Mark McGowan unleashes an extraordinary rant about working-from-home: Western Australia Premier

Western Australia Prime Minister Mark McGowan has criticized the work-from-home culture, saying it is “not good for society or the community”.

His extraordinary comments come as his state government prepares to abolish the controversial state of emergency introduced during the pandemic.

Speaking to reporters, Mr McGowan said he would prefer people to stop working from home as the risk of Covid has decreased.

“I’m a little old-fashioned about people going to work. I mean police officers, construction workers, miners, teachers, nurses, journalists and a lot of people going to work,” he said.

‘It creates collegiality, it creates a constructive culture, people work together to achieve results.

“I don’t think anyone sitting on their laptop in their kitchen generates that.”

The Prime Minister also said that workers moving to the CBD would mean more support for those working in retail, restaurants and cafes as well.

“Everyone sitting at home on their laptop all day doesn’t match the work demands of a lot of other people and I don’t think it breeds a good culture.

“It also means that your CBDs, stores, shops or cafes, restaurants, all those people trying to make a living, lose habit. The same is happening in the suburbs and city centers throughout Western Australia.

‘Sometimes there are requirements, you can consult with your employer to work from home, sometimes you work appropriately in individual circumstances.

“But overall, I just don’t think working from home is good for society and for the community.”

He made similar comments during a radio interview, which angered some callers.

However, his comments were welcomed by the mayor of the city of Perth, Basil Zempilas.

Mr Zempilas said Mr McGowan’s comments reflected the city’s position and he urged the prime minister to return all officials to the city for a full week of work.

It comes as the state government prepares to lift its controversial state of

Mr McGowan says working from home ‘isn’t good for the community or society’ (stock)

“The Prime Minister’s strong message is welcomed and by extension, we hope it means every government employee working in the CBD will be in his office five days a week with immediate effect,” he said.

‘The best place for our city workers is in the city. It’s better for the companies they work for and it’s clearly better for the shopkeepers, entrepreneurs and cafes and restaurants that thrive on their patronage.’

The state government is preparing to abolish the state of emergency.

The controversial laws have been in effect since March 2020 and have given the government extraordinary powers to impose restrictions, such as closing the border and enforcing mask mandates.