This state in Australia wants to make hybrid work the law
'This will be a new standard for working life in Victoria. Working from home works for families, and it's good for the economy,' Allan told reporters. 'Workers are more productive. It's saving workers time and money.' The state government will consult with both employer and employee groups over the rest of 2025 before moving ahead with formal legislation. The proposal marks a significant shift in workplace norms as major businesses globally scale back remote work allowances. According to industry data, over half of Fortune 100 companies have ended flexible work models for desk jobs and mandated a full return to office. In Australia, many employers have also encouraged workers to return to physical offices. However, these efforts have had limited impact, especially in Melbourne, where around 20% of office space remained vacant as of January. That figure is higher than the national average and has raised concerns about urban economic slowdown, according to the Property Council of Australia. Despite the trend toward reinstating office attendance, hybrid work remains popular in Australia. Premier Allan's announcement comes ahead of the state election in November 2026. Earlier this year, Australia's federal opposition party dropped its plan to mandate office returns for government workers after facing public backlash, contributing to its election loss. 'If you can do your job from home, we'll make it your right – because we're on your side,' Allan wrote on social media, defending the move. Industry groups have pushed back. Tim Piper, head of the Victorian unit of the Australian Industry Group, said in a statement, 'The proposal is a serious government overreach that undermines business autonomy and further jeopardizes economic confidence in the state.' He added, 'It is little more than pure political theater designed to wedge the state opposition ahead of next year's election.'
Legal hurdles may also lie ahead. The Australian Financial Review reported that employment law concerning private businesses falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Any new state legislation on hybrid work could face challenges in the country's High Court.
Consultations on the proposed law are expected to run through the end of the year.
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Economic Times
3 days ago
- Economic Times
This state in Australia wants to make hybrid work the law
Agencies In a move that has sparked opposition from business groups, the Victorian state government in Australia is preparing to legislate a right to hybrid work. Premier Jacinta Allan announced on Saturday that employees in Victoria may soon have the legal right to work from home at least two days a week. 'This will be a new standard for working life in Victoria. Working from home works for families, and it's good for the economy,' Allan told reporters. 'Workers are more productive. It's saving workers time and money.' The state government will consult with both employer and employee groups over the rest of 2025 before moving ahead with formal legislation. The proposal marks a significant shift in workplace norms as major businesses globally scale back remote work allowances. According to industry data, over half of Fortune 100 companies have ended flexible work models for desk jobs and mandated a full return to office. In Australia, many employers have also encouraged workers to return to physical offices. However, these efforts have had limited impact, especially in Melbourne, where around 20% of office space remained vacant as of January. That figure is higher than the national average and has raised concerns about urban economic slowdown, according to the Property Council of Australia. Despite the trend toward reinstating office attendance, hybrid work remains popular in Australia. Premier Allan's announcement comes ahead of the state election in November 2026. Earlier this year, Australia's federal opposition party dropped its plan to mandate office returns for government workers after facing public backlash, contributing to its election loss. 'If you can do your job from home, we'll make it your right – because we're on your side,' Allan wrote on social media, defending the move. Industry groups have pushed back. Tim Piper, head of the Victorian unit of the Australian Industry Group, said in a statement, 'The proposal is a serious government overreach that undermines business autonomy and further jeopardizes economic confidence in the state.' He added, 'It is little more than pure political theater designed to wedge the state opposition ahead of next year's election.' Legal hurdles may also lie ahead. The Australian Financial Review reported that employment law concerning private businesses falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Any new state legislation on hybrid work could face challenges in the country's High Court. Consultations on the proposed law are expected to run through the end of the year. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Jane St: How an options trader smelt a rat when others raised a toast TCS job cuts may not stop at 12,000; its bench policy threatens more Unlisted dreams, listed disappointments? NSDL's IPO leaves pre-IPO investors riled. Regulators promote exchanges; can they stifle one? Watch IEX Did Meesho's Valmo really deliver a knockout punch to e-commerce logistics? Sebi's settlement with market intermediaries: More mystery than transparency? Trump tantrum: Check the Indian pulse of your portfolio. 71 stocks from 5 sectors for whom Trump may not even be noise F&O Radar| Deploy Short Strangle in Nifty to gain from Theta decay Stock Radar: PI Industries stock showing signs of momentum; takes support above 50-DEMA – time to buy?
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
Conservationists' fight to protect ‘Perfect Unanimity', the British-era building on the Marina
The building housing the office of Director General of Police (DGP) on the Marina is called 'Perfect Unanimity.' But, about 30 years ago, it became the source of discord between the then AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) government and a host of concerned residents of Chennai, as the former had planned to demolish the 19th Century heritage structure and raise a '10 storeyed and elegant' complex for the Police department. Thanks to sustained efforts of a band of dedicated conservationists, the authorities had eventually dropped their plan and gone about strengthening the Victorian-era building, which continues to serve as the headquarters of the Police department. The episode of the campaign to save the DGP office complex was recalled by many, while mourning the passing of veteran architect-conservationist Tara Murali in Chennai last week. She, along with a host of prominent residents of Chennai, had successfully fought hard in saving the building from demolition. It all began in April 1993 with the then Chief Minister Jayalalitha (as her name was spelt then) announcing, during her reply to the debate in the Assembly on the demands for grants to the Home department, her regime's plan to construct a new structure. At that time, she made only a brief reference to the plan. More details came three months later when she visited the DGP office, the first Chief Minister to do so after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's founder and her predecessor C.N. Annadurai. A news report in The Hindu on July 28, 1993 stated 'the new complex of the office of the Director General of Police, to be constructed at the existing site on the Marina here at a cost of about Rs. [ ₹] 15 crore will have all facilities and become a landmark for the city. At the same time, care would be taken to ensure that the building comes up in harmony with the existing natural surroundings.' A number of reports and articles published by this newspaper traced the origins of 'Perfect Unanimity.' Free Masons of Madras, as the city of Chennai was officially known in the 19th Century and most of the 20th Century, was the owner of the property. The Police department took the building initially on lease for seven years from July 24. 1865 at the monthly rent of ₹ 90. It was on June 11, 1874 that the government acquired the building for ₹ 20.000 and spent ₹ 10.000 more on additions and repairs. Alterations and extensions were made in 1909 to accommodate the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) wing of the overall Police department which was formed in 1906. The main reason adduced by the authorities then for the new building was space constraint in the 19th Century structure in view of the growth of the Police department. In Tamil Nadu, it was in 1979 that the post of DGP was created to head the department. [At present, as per the sanctioned executive strength of the department, there are 14 DGPs, 18 Additional DGPs, 44 IGs (Inspector General), 37 Deputy IGs and 173 Superintendents of Police, in addition to other ranks]. The opposition to the operation against the DGP office complex came in March 1994, when many prominent citizens including former Union Minister C. Subramaniam, former DGPs K. Ravindran and V.R. Lakshminarayanan, leading writer R.K. Narayan, veteran musician Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer, ace tennis player Ramanathan Krishnan, film actor Kamal Hassan and journalist-writer S. Muthiah had appealed to the then DPG S. Sripal to withdraw the demolition proposal. Representatives of the Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG), for which Tara Murali was an advisor, and the Environmental Society were also signatories of the appeal. Explaining in detail why the operation should be halted, the citizens had mooted the idea of converting the building into a museum of police history, if the building could not be used to suit the department. P.T. Krishnan, senior architect, said it should not be difficult to renovate the building which had no structural problem. However, a month later, Jayalalithaa told the Assembly that a sum of ₹3 crore had been allotted for construction of a new DGP office complex on the Marina. In the meantime, competitive designs were invited from archiects for the proposed building. In October 1994, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the new complex. At that time, she did not touch upon the controversy but she said her intention was that the new building for the police headquarters should be a 'magnificent landmark,' which would adorn the sea front with matching beauty. She also observed that ' our emphasis must be on constructive correction rather than on destructive denigration.' A positive outcome of the demolition operation was that another heritage structure, the 18th-century Government House (Old MLAs' Hostel) on the Omandurar Government Estate received a facelift to accommodate the Police department temporarily. The DGP office had started functioning from the Government House mid-December 1994, the Tamil Nadu regional chapter of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) organised a public meeting to demand the enactment of a law to protect heritage buildings. At the meeting, Tara Murali had moved a plea wherein it was stated that the move would violate existing building rules, set an undesirable precedent that would pose a threat to other heritage buildings and threaten the Marina, the only lung space left in the city. A number of leading personalities including the then Vice-Chancellor of Anna University M. Anandakrishnan took part in the meeting. It was around the time that the Madras HIgh Court stayed the demoliton operation, after being moved by the INTACH. As the legal battle went on, there was a regime change in the State in May 1996 when the DMK returned to power. Three months later, the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi announced in the Assembly that his government would not go ahead with the previous regime's decision of demolishing the DGP office building. Two years later, he declared open the renovated DGP building on the Marina. Subsequently, an annex was also built. When Jayalalithaa (by then adding an additional 'a' to her name) returned to power in May 2001, her government, in late 2003, announced that a new building for the DGP office would be built on the Film City complex in Taramani over 24 acres at a cost of ₹ 30 crore and the present building would be converted into a museum. However, nothing much was heard about this proposal. 'Perfect Unanmity' is still performing its traditional duty of providing accommodation to the Police department. The campaign, launched by conservationists including Tara Murali about 30 years ago, made it possible.
Time of India
28-07-2025
- Time of India
Ansett Australia set for big return decades after collapse, but in never seen before avatar; here's what to expect
Over two decades after the collapse, Ansett Australia, which was once the country's second-largest airline, is all set to return in a new avatar. Ansett Australia collapsed into administration after suffering financial troubles in 2001. Its final flight was recorded early in 2002. More than 16,000 people lost jobs following the company's downfall. Now, two decades later, the brand is scripting a revival in a way Australians wouldn't have ever imagined. It is making a return not as an airline but as an AI-powered holiday booking platform called Ansett Travel , according to 7News. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category healthcare Cybersecurity MCA others Product Management Design Thinking PGDM Leadership Public Policy Data Science CXO Operations Management Healthcare MBA Others Management Technology Finance Data Analytics Digital Marketing Degree Data Science Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIM Lucknow CERT-IIML Healthcare Management India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIM Lucknow CERT-IIML Healthcare Management India Starts on undefined Get Details How is Ansett Travel designed Speaking about Ansett Travel, Melbourne-based entrepreneur Constantine Frantzeskos said it was designed to be a 'hyper-personalized' travel agent that suggests trips and itineraries based on your preferences, calendar events, and budgets. 'I didn't just acquire a lapsed trademark and domain; I resurrected trust embedded deep in collective memory,' Frantzeskos was quoted by 7News as saying on Monday (July 28, 2025). 'The original Ansett served Australians beautifully for 65 years before collapsing in 2002, leaving a void in reliability and brand warmth. I believe that legacy still matters and that it's deserving of being reimagined for modern travellers. Ansett Travel isn't about replicating the past; it's about re‑engineering it through AI as the core, not as an afterthought,' Frantzeskos continued. Live Events What will Ansett Travel offer Frantzeskos has worked with Emirates, Dubai Tourism, and Visit Victoria in the past. This time, he has partnered with Victorian travel start-up Travlr. He said the new platform is 'like the Costco of travel.' It is open to everyone, 'but if you want the really good stuff,' flights, hotels, and holidays at near-wholesale prices, you will need to join Ansett VIP, he said. Ansett VIP membership An Ansett VIP membership is $99 a year, according to 7News. Not all AI features are live yet, but Frantzeskos said plans for things like auto-generated itineraries, pre-trip alerts, and personalized loyalty experiences are in the works. 'Today's travel platforms are reactive,' he said. 'You search, compare, click. Ansett seeks to flip that model. 'It's designed to anticipate when users need a break, school holidays, anniversaries, executive downtime, or great weather for a weekend away, and offer options before you even think to ask. It's not replacing human agents; it's doing what scale, data, and logic do best—with finesse, not friction.' The website is already live and offering travel deals for destinations including Las Vegas, Bali, Tokyo, and Athens. Before its collapse, Ansett reportedly flew about 10 million passengers annually.
