The Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission is the main obstacle to much-needed reform of industrial relations according to the author of this essay. A series of High Court interpretations of the Commission’s original mandate and the Commission’s own aggressively self-protective actions have lead to stronger, more militant unions, higher than necessary government expenditure, and a host of ‘interested parties’ who all depend for their existence and livelihood on the survival of the Commission.
The only hope for reform is to abolish the commission altogether.
