kiwichild

The gloves are off and the fight is on.

High Court challenge to IR laws begins
Thursday May 4 12:54 AEST
Unions and state and territory governments have begun their legal challenge to the federal government's new industrial relations laws in the High Court.

One of the central arguments in the case is whether the Commonwealth has the right to use the constitution's corporations power to intervene in an industrial relations matter.

Appearing for NSW, state solicitor-general Michael Sexton, SC, said the WorkChoices legislation would have been considered beyond the power of the federal government since Federation.

"What we do say is that this legislation would have been considered beyond a commonwealth power for most of the last century," he told the court.

The court is expecting to hear NSW's challenge to the laws, which passed through federal parliament in December, for the rest of the day.

The hearing is expected to last six days.

Outside the court, NSW Public Service Union general secretary John Cahill challenged critics who said the legal action was a waste of money.

"It is certainly worth the money being spent," he told reporters.

"It's a fairly small amount of money in terms of the annual income of our union and other unions and we think it is such an important issue that we'd be falling down in our duties if we didn't bring the challenge against it."

The government will find another way to keep its industrial relations reforms if the states' High Court challenge against the changes succeeds, Labor leader Kim Beazley says.

Mr Beazley said he hoped their challenge worked.

"Naturally I hope along with the states and the unions who have mounted this challenge that they succeed," Mr Beazley told reporters in Sydney.

"And I do understand this, whether they succeed or not, John Howard will find another way of skinning the cat.

"He's absolutely determined to upset the balance of industrial relations, so I hope that the court case succeeds."

courtesy: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=78551

Amazulu

Here's hoping it fails.

kiwichild

here's hoping it SUCCEEDS

Vash the Stampede

So much for all the whingers who like to claim that Australians "just take it" without fighting back.

Amazulu

I honestly think they don't have much of a chance. Challenging an elected government on legislation passed by a democratic parliament is very difficult. It is in the UK anyway.

kiwichild

The system is different here. All challenges in the High Court are in relation to the interpretation of the constitution at federation and what the intent was and how that intent would translate into todays world.

The argument being mounted is that the Federal government has no authority to enact federal legilsation in respect of industrial relations as this is an area that historically the jurisdiction belongs to the individual states.

Vash the Stampede

Excellent point.

Australian state governments (which have no equivalent counterpart in the UK) wield a surprising amount of power.

There is every chance that they could beat this legislation.

kiwichild

Good on them for taking up the fight! This is possibly the most significant piece of legislation of contemporary times in OZ. The outcome will impact so deeply it will change Australia forever one way or the other (especially if and when labor gets in, if they don't change it). Beazley is now trying to appeal to 'middle Australia'. I know in some ways they must but they can also if not careful stray from what the labor party is meant to be.

Labor I think has to decide just what it's about, develop stong policies and strong arguments for those policies. They also have an image problem that needs sorting.

kiwichild

Cheers Vash. Yes you make good points on this. I think it can be a bit of a challenge for newcomers to OZ to get their head around the political system here. Personally I like the federal/state divide though sometimes it can be a bit of a nuisance.

Amazulu

It's not going to happen. Beazley is a buffoon. His policies are wishy washy. He reminds me of the libdems in the UK. He tells everbody what they want to hear. Australia has prospered under Howard. Thankfully Australia is slowly moving to the right, I hope it keeps on doing so.

kiwichild

For the benefit of those who aren't familiar with Australian politics, this is due to the division of powers over specific areas under the constitution.

The federal government has authority over matters such as defence and taxation on income, social security, immigration,etc but a significant proportion of areas were placed under the control of the states,eg; education, health, policing etc. Federal police are a separate matter.

kiwichild

Well you know my thoughts about that: Screw the right cos sure as hell they'll screw you!

kiwichild

Has it? You mean corporate Australia (much of which is multinational corporations and their shareholders). The 'average' Australian and the 'battler' certainly haven't.

I think emigrating to the US would have suited you better. Yanks soak up this right wing economic rationalist crap like a baby to a breast. Here we prefer to think and question and become vocal

Wol

"Thinking and questioning" don't seem to come that easily to Australians. <g>

If you want to *try* thinking, think back to the UK in the sixties and seventies and what a downward spiral the place was in. Like her or hate her, Mrs Thatcher -everyone would agree on this - changed the face of the country.

I would say very much for the better.

I am no expert on Australian law, but from what I have seen over the years union power got completely out of control and probably peaked in the mid nineties. If no-one had taken them on the place would be even more of a shambles now than it is.

kiwichild

Agree with the bolded comment. As for unions, there was a positive balance and relatively cordial relationship between unions and employers durin the Hawke 'Accord' years (the 80s)