Two pieces of legislation have been chosen to highlight the nature of reforms to industrial legislation in 1996. First, the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996 (Cwlth) ('the Workplace Relations Act') will be examined, as it represents the new reform agenda directed at a reconfiguration of industrial relations through a dismantling of the collective apparatus of industrial regula tion.1 Secondly, the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW) ('the Industrial Rela tions Act') will be considered, being part of an established and less controversial trend of legislative reform generally referred to as 'managed decentralism'.2 Each Act will be analysed as a way of exploring the theme of the future of collective labour law in Australia and the emerging new paradigm for the regulation of industrial relations. A further trend that will be examined is that of the integration of labour law and anti-discrimination principles, an important developing theme in industrial relations discourse. The acts are clearly driven by different ideological stances. The federal Act is imbued with notions of choice and freedom of bargain ing that consequently shape the framework for bargaining, the role of industrial tribunals in overseeing bargaining processes and outcomes, and the participation of trade unions within the new industrial relations framework established by the Act. The New South Wales Act appears to approach the regulation of industrial relations from a different perspective, which seeks to redress part of the deregulatory process undertaken in earlier reforms. Hence, the processes and structures established by the New South Wales Act differ considerably from their federal counterparts.
This article examines international migration in the Pacific and argues that there should be still greater opportunities for the people of Pacific countries to migrate between their home states and the developed states of the Pacific Rim. The case for borders that are more permeable to human migration is based in part on the common Pacific predicament of poor resource endowments, rapidly growing populations, depletion and degradation of existing resources, and threats posed by anthropogenic climate change. Coupled with this is a history of colonisation that has left some Pacific peoples with liberal access to economic opportunities in developed states by virtue of their citizenship or preferential visa status, while others have no such opportunities. Both New Zealand and the United States have been reasonably generous in facilitating migration from Polynesia and Micronesia. It is Australia that stands out as the Pacific neighbour with the greatest capacity to develop new migration streams. The seasonal worker scheme announced by the Australian Government in August 2008 takes a cautious but valuable step along this path, yet there is scope for further expanding Pacific access by broadening the geographical, temporal and material scope of existing migration arrangements.
This article examines the dispute resolution practices of Fair Work Australia that are evolving to deal with individual workplace rights, as its traditional role shifts away from conciliating and arbitrating collective industrial disputes. The workplace rights enshrined in the 'general protections' provisions in Part 3-1 of the Fair Work Act 2009 protect employees and prospective employees from any 'adverse action' taken against them because they are exercising a workplace right, or because they fall within one of the protected categories, such as the right to be free from discrimination. A broad range of alternative dispute resolution processes is now available to Fair Work Australia in dealing with such disputes. Alternative dispute resolution processes are seen as a way of avoiding costly and time-consuming litigation, and in some circumstances can improve access to justice for individuals. This article explores whether Fair Work Australia is likely to adopt different dispute resolution approaches from its traditional conciliation practices when managing 'general protections' applications, and whether the framework for dealing with these disputes will facilitate fair recognition and enforcement of workplace rights.
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