Why the silence on industrial relations?
With just a day to go to the Australian federal election, so-called “industrial relations reform” has hardly rated a mention by either the Liberal or Labor parties. Yet in the weeks leading up to the campaign, it appeared that Prime Minister John Howard was determined to make anti-union rhetoric central to his re-election bid. Back then, the government was thrashing around for an issue to divert public attention from the deepening social problems, corporate collapses and wholesale job destruction that had already resulted in a string of defeats for the Liberals in state elections and by-elections. Desperate, and devoid of any policies to address growing social discontent, the government turned to an age-old diversion. It began to beat the anti-union drum. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott announced that the government, acting on allegations of union thuggery and corruption in the construction industry, would launch a royal commission into the industry, particularly the activitie
