Rushing through legislation

is always going to end in disaster.

The present government is trying to push through their industrial relations legislation today. It will even sit tomorrow, almost unheard of on a Saturday, if necessary in order to push it through. 

This is surely an indication in itself that there is something wrong with the legislation? Why the rush? 

The answer to that almost certainly lies in the fact that the present government is firmly controlled by the union movement. This is despite the fact that union membership has dropped from around 40% in the 1990's to 14.3% now. The Labor party was formed by the union movement and it remains part of the union movement. 

The union movement has seen weaknesses in the present government, particularly in the current Prime Minister, and they are taking advantage of that. Yes, it is a natural thing to do. 

There are already signs that the union movement is attempting to return to action like industry wide strikes. They want a return to compulsory union membership, something they have already gone a considerable way to achieving in the building industry. It raises the cost of doing business and those costs are passed on and inflation goes up. That matters little to the state head of one union. His salary was said to be $268,000 this last financial year - and that would be without all the undoubted perks and kickbacks. He also defends the fact that the union members under him get over $60,000 a year above the national average. In doing so he tells us that these workers are "underpaid". 

A neighbour across the way works on managing major building projects and he is alarmed at the power that this one man yields.  "He could get a whole site down in less than five minutes with a single phone call. Nobody would dare to argue with him." (The union man has in fact done just that.)

Recently the same union "rented" the side of a tram to advertise themselves. They had no need to advertise themselves. It was done to intimidate. The state government claimed they could do nothing about it even though trams are not supposed to be used for that purpose. No, they could not afford to annoy the very people who made sure they won government. 

Ambulance ramping is now worse than it was during the previous government, considerably worse. That union, having achieved the goal of their choice of government, has been remarkably silent since then. 

And, inevitably, we have been told there could be strikes at the airports - just in time for the holiday travel period. The maritime union is threatening more action too - so that goods for the Christmas period will not be unloaded in time. 

It was all fairly quiet under the previous government. People were not earning as much and we had all the other problems brought about by the pandemic but things were getting back together. All this activity is designed to make us forget that, to believe that we are hard done by - and that the "bosses" are paying themselves outrageous amounts while letting the workers "go backwards". (And yes, I agree that there are some who are overpaid - but not as many as the union movement or the media would have us believe.)

It was the demands of the union movement which sent so much of our manufacturing industry off shore. More will go if they are again allowed to dictate harsh terms and conditions to those who take on the risks of employing others. We have other means of ensuring people are paid an award wage and have safe working conditions. It is time to acknowledge that and stop the power grab before it is too late.