Ray Markey and Kerry Taylor

Trans-Tasman Labour History: Introduction

The eight articles in this thematic section of Labour History arose from the Trans-Tasman Labour History Conference held in Auckland in early 2007. The articles have been edited by Ray Markey and Kerry Taylor.

Until recently, labour history has focused upon developments within the confines of the nation state and generally, labour movements have also been bounded in this way, notwithstanding a long tradition of internationalism in their vision. Even in Australia and New Zealand the traditional focus for labour history has been predominantly framed by the nation state, even though there have always been strong connections between the two societies. In recent years Donald Denoon, Francis Castles, Eric Fry, Raelene Frances, Bruce Scates, Melanie Nolan and James Bennett have rediscovered the trans-Tasman world of labour that operated from earliest colonial times. In addition, there has been a growing international interest in the development of comparative and transnational perspectives in history. Recent trends have moved beyond an international comparative approach, to analysis of global and transnational dynamics of social and economic formations and experience.

The thematic articles in this issue grew out of the conference on 'Trans-Tasman Labour History: Comparative or Transnational' organised by the Centre for Work and Labour Market Studies at Auckland University of Technology from 30 January to 1 February 2007. Invited speakers from Australia and New Zealand presented parallel papers on specified themes, and other papers addressed specific issues of transnational or comparative labour history in the trans-Tasman context. All contributors were invited to revise their papers for submission to this special thematic section of Labour History. Those who had written comparable papers on the same topic for Australia and New Zealand were asked to merge their papers into a transnational or comparative analysis. In other cases, single authors had already developed these perspectives.

Eight articles comprise this thematic. The first two work through the dimensions of class and gender. Erik Olssen and Bruce Scates review traditional interpretations of the relationship between class and politics in New Zealand drawing from two major demographic research projects of the past 30 years inspired by US quantitative methodology. They argue that whilst class has indeed been critical in determining political allegiances, and hence the rise of the Labour Party, this relationship was complicated by divisions within the working class. Skilled workers were much longer in coming to Labour than the unskilled, which indicates a different trajectory from New South Wales, but one not so dissimilar from Britain or Victoria. No political demographic studies have been attempted on a major scale in Australia yet, but the article concludes with comparative remarks on how 'class work', and particularly its intersection with gender, might inform similar studies in Australia. The second article, by Raelene Frances and Melanie Nolan, considers the political and social history of trans-Tasman labour relations from a gender perspective. They note the assumption of female domesticity in the wage earners' welfare state created in Australia and New Zealand early in the twentieth century, particularly through the state arbitration system. They also focus attention on the 'sheer masculinity' of the labour movement and the occupations which have received most attention from historians in the trans-Tasman labour market. Frances and Nolan provide new insights on women and their trans-Tasman experience.

The next four articles are concerned with the institutions of labour history. Bradon Ellem and Peter Franks review 150 years of trade unionism in Australasia. In terms of structure, growth and decline, as well as relationships with the state and employers, they indicate considerable similarity in the course of unionism in Australia and New Zealand, notwithstanding some differences in timing of developments. They argue that these similarities were greater than differences created by varying environments of state structure and politics. Raymond Markey compares the historical trajectories of the Australian and New Zealand Labo(u)r Parties. He identifies substantial similarities in ideology, support base and electoral performance. However, he also emphasises important divergences in terms of the timing of consolidation and formation of government, the impact of different state structures (federal and unitary), the degree of farmers' support, and racial policy. Nikola Balnave and Greg Patmore examine the 'third arm' of the labour movement – the Rochdale Consumer Cooperatives imported from Britain to Australia and New Zealand. In both countries the coops played an important role in mining and rural areas, as well as in some metropolitan centres, experiencing waves of growth and decline partially associated with economic fluctuations. Central organisations promoted the cooperative movement as a whole, and Womens Guilds played a social and educational role. However cooperatives never succeeded in developing a structured connection with the wider labour movement. After World War II most declined in the face of competition from supermarkets and the waning of working-class communities, with a handful of coops surviving where there was a strong sense of local community. Gordon Anderson and Michael Quinlan survey the role of the state in regulating the employment relationship in Australia and New Zealand from 1788 to 2007. The differing basis for settlement played a critical role initially, in that the convict settlements in Australia produced coercive and interventionist forms of state regulation. However, as free labour became more important in Australia, both countries attempted to deal with similar problems of labour shortages using the legal system. From the latter part of the nineteenth century both Australia and New Zealand legislated to regulate aspects of work for the protection of employees, culminating in the state arbitration systems. Deregulation of these systems occurred from the 1980s, although at a different pace.

The last two articles focus upon more specific topics. Shelley Harford appraises the 'community of interests' developed from 1970 to the mid-1980s between the peak bodies of both countries, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the New Zealand Federation of Labour. Finally, David Baker analyses the relationship between union pickets, the police and the judiciary in two industrial disputes at APPM Burnie (Tasmania) in 1992 and Lyttelton (near Christchurch) in 1999. He argues that the local community-based relationship between police and unions together with the operational independence of the police led to police flexibility and a limiting of violence, although police in both instances attracted company and judicial criticism for prioritising peace-keeping over strict enforcement of the law.

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