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EDITORIAL
| This May 2009 issue highlights the breadth and depth of the scholarship of Australian labour history. Bill Robbins draws our attention to convict labour, a topic which tends to have been neglected in the journal in recent years. He argues that Governor Macquarie developed complex and sophisticated management strategies to motivate convict workers. The regulations drawn up by Macquarie constitute perhaps the earliest form of job description in the history of Australian labour management. |
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The next two articles reflect on nineteenth century Australian labour history in Victoria. Danielle Thornton explores the forgotten role of the women strikers in the 1882 Melbourne tailoresses' strike, which is recognised as a pivotal moment in the developing relationship between women workers and the organised labour movement in Australia. Focusing on the activity and testimony of the striking tailoresses, this article describes how the strikers mounted a radical challenge to the existing stereotype of the 'factory girl' and forged a new model of militant, class-conscious femininity. Rohan Price examines the role of the Victorian judiciary in the early interpretation of the Factory and Shops Act 1896 (Vic), which established the wages board system. Unlike the model of compulsory arbitration adopted by the later federal government and several other states, the wages board system did not provide for the registration of unions. The Victorian judiciary through a legally formalistic interpretation of the Factories and Shops Act 1896 rejected a universal living wage and any significant role in setting economic policy. This complemented the approach of the legislature, which was hostile to the compulsory arbitration model. |
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The next group of articles covers a range of issues relating to the Labor Party and trade unions. Geoffrey Robinson focuses on how Labor governed in the various Australian states, from 1911 to 1940, particularly in regard to fiscal policy. This article presents an analysis of patterns of social expenditure and taxation in the Australian states from 1911 to 1940. The concentration of scholars on tariffs protection and arbitration has obscured the importance of state social services expenditure which by international standards was high in the Australian states. Michael Hogan illuminates the activities of the Industrial Vigilance Council (IVC) of the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Labor Party from 1916 to 1919. Hogan argues that the IVC is of historic significance because it provided the template for later factional organisation both in the NSW and federal Labor parties. Michael Hess looks at the factors surrounding the successful launch of the Tasmanian branch of the Federated Liquor and Allied Employees Union after World War II. Ashley Lavelle investigates how the Opposition Federal Australian Labor Party responded to the upsurge in industrial militancy and radicalism prior to its electoral victory in December 1972. Labor was sympathetic to these radical tendencies and pragmatically incorporated them for electoral purposes, but also tried to channel the discontent within mainstream politics. Cathy Brigden probes the split in the Victorian Trades Hall Council from 1967 to 1973 which is considered the classic case of internal union conflict. The split is reassessed through an exploration of peak union power and purpose. Kerrie Saville challenges the myth of stability concerning structural change in the Australian trade union movement from 1969 to 1985. By focussing on union formations, dissolutions, breakaways and mergers, rather than just looking at the aggregate numbers of trade unions, the picture becomes one of significant change rather than stability. |
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Verity Archer contributes to the growing field of anti-Labour history by examining the impact neo-liberalism had on how the unemployed were perceived during the 1970s. They were viewed as 'dole bludgers' who were a financial burden on the taxpayer. The article focuses in the role that economic think-tanks played in bringing these ideas to Australia and the role political figures played in popularising New Right welfare ideas within Australia. |
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This issue contains a number of interesting contributions in the non-refereed section. Ed Davis continues the Labour History tradition of providing insightful reports on the Australian Council of Trade Union Congresses not only for the historic record but also for an analysis of the state of the Australian trade union movement. Peter Lewis explores the role of the 'Your Rights at Work' campaign of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in the defeat of the conservative Howard federal government in the November 2007 election. This labour movement campaign directly challenged the government's WorkChoices legislation and Howard supporters saw the campaign as a major problem for them. At my normally sedate local polling booth on Election Day some Liberal Party volunteers attacked 'Your Rights at Work' banners by kicking them and knocking them over, leaving the Labor Party banners alone. They challenged the legal right of the Labor Party to place these ACTU campaign banners alongside the Labor Party ones. |
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In a heritage report, Neale Towart paints us a picture of the recent renovations of the Sydney Trades Hall. We also have a conference report, and obituaries for three long-lived luminaries of the Left. As usual, the outstanding book review section highlights the latest scholarship both in Australia and overseas.
Greg Patmore
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