00:00As far as campaign climb downs go, this was a big one.
00:10Peter Dutton's tanked his work from home crackdown and softened plans to cut the public service.
00:22Over in Victoria, Labor was ready.
00:26The Prime Minister in Labor held McEwen, paying a visit to a family taking advantage
00:31of flexible work.
00:40First announced a month ago, it will be an expectation of a Dutton Liberal Government
00:45that all members of the Australian Public Service work from the office five days a week.
00:50The Coalition's policy drew a fierce backlash from female voters.
00:55Peter Dutton sought to allay concerns.
01:04But when coupled with plans to save billions by cutting 41,000 public sector jobs, he struggled
01:10to shake off comparisons to Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
01:17Culminating in today's sensational back down, no work from home ban.
01:28And no forced redundancies in the public service.
01:31Jobs to go through a hiring freeze and natural attrition.
01:44The change tacked so early in the campaign shows how deeply unpopular this policy had
01:49become.
01:50Peter Dutton can only hope that by owning the mistake and making the call now, he can
01:55stem the damage with early voting to begin in a fortnight.
01:59The latest news poll has Labor ahead of the Coalition in a result that mirrors the outcome
02:05of the 2022 election.
02:06We've got work to do, there's no question about that.
02:08We are the underdog in this race, but we're the only party who can provide support to
02:13Australians in a very uncertain age.
02:15Amid fears of a global recession, both leaders are positioning themselves as best placed
02:20to navigate the turbulent times.
02:22You can't change global events, what you can do is prepare for them.
02:29And hope you don't veer off course.
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