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Book Review
| Joe Isaac and Stuart Macintyre (eds), The New Province for Law and Order: 100 Years of Australian Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 2004. pp. xxii + 431. $79.95 cloth.
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| As the Australian Industrial Relations Commission celebrates its centenary and with the current political focus on industrial relations suggesting a major shake up of the Commission's role, once the Coalition Government takes control of the Senate in July 2005, it's a good time for reflection. |
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The New Province for Law and Order: 100 Years of Australian Industrial Relations Conciliation and Arbitration offers just that. Edited by Stuart Macintyre and Joe Isaac of Melbourne University, it is a well-researched and fascinating insight into the 100 years of the Commission and its predecessors. |
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The book, which considers the history of the Commission through examination of its key stakeholders, including government, trade unions, employers and members, shows that the first hundred years of the Commission was far from smooth with challenges and changes to its name, composition, structure and jurisdiction. If history is any guide then the bumpy ride will continue. |
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When pieced together in the one book, the different perspectives of the ten eminent contributors create a complete picture of the impact the Commission has had in developing Australia's unique industrial relations system. |
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Subjects include an examination of the legislative history and challenges to jurisdiction, a look at the different influences of Judges and Presidents on the development of the Commission, the economic impacts of decisions of the Commission, as well as social developments resulting from decisions, with particular reference to the recognition of Aboriginal workers in the Northern Territory and equity for women workers. |
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As Commission President Justice Geoffrey Giudice said when launching the book in October 2004: 'The blend to anyone seriously interested in our industrial relations system should be irresistible'. |
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Justice Michael Kirby and Breen Creighton provide an informative chapter on The Law of Conciliation and Arbitration, tracing the history of the High Court and other courts in interpreting section 51 (p. xxxv) of the Constitution, transversing the origin of 'common rule awards', the interpretation of 'industrial dispute', 'industrial matters', and the separation of powers doctrine. Kirby and Creighton conclude that after the first 100 years of conciliation and arbitration, the Commission will continue to adapt and change. The driving forces of change however are less likely to be constitutional but rather federal governments of various persuasions with distinctive visions for the role of the Commission in its second century. |
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The book has a heavy focus on arbitration, particularly through its examination of many National Wages cases, or Safety Net Reviews as they are currently known. The examination of these cases with reference to their economic and social impacts highlights how easily the Commission can fall into or out of favour with governments, trade unions and employers. Arbitration, by its very nature almost certainly results in a winner and loser. The book questions why both employers and trade unions appear to readily accept arbitration including chapters from each perspective. Dependence and capture theories are offered as explanation of union's acceptance of arbitration, while employers are suggested to have gone through stages of opposition, acceptance, dependence and reassessment, suggested to be a result of shifting bargaining power reflecting the political and social climate. |
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Although arbitration is only a small proportion of the Commission's work, the economic and social impacts of one decision can be far reaching. By thoroughly exploring the work of the Commission from a variety of perspectives for the first time, the book creates a better appreciation and a fuller picture of the role arbitration plays in society. |
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Most importantly, the book demonstrates that historically the tensions between respective governments of the day and the Commission have arisen from the role of the Commission as a maker of economic and social policy. From the initial setting of the Living Wage at the Federal level by Justice Henry Bournes Higgins in 1907, through to the period of the Accord in the 1980s and beyond to the current Safety Net Reviews the common thread has been the link between social welfare, wages policies, taxation and the economy. |
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Despite the current political climate, Associate Professor Bill Harley of the University of Melbourne concludes in the book's final paragraph:
Clearly, the institutional arrangements regulating conflict in Australia will continue to change, but it is unlikely that a time will come in the foreseeable future when they will no longer be needed. The force of long history on institutional arrangements should not be discounted.
One may say that is the view of an optimist but if it is the case then let's hope the next 100 years of the Commission are as colourful, interesting and vibrant as the last. |
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| Australian Industrial Relations Commission, Sydney |
GREG HARRISON | |
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