Friday 22nd of November 2024
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the little aussie nationalist .....

From the ABC ….. 

PM defends right to override
state IR laws 

Prime Minister John Howard says
there will not be any dramatic consequences for the states if they lose
the industrial relations challenge in the High Court. 

The states are fighting plans for
a national industrial relations system. 

Mr Howard says it is his duty to
work with the elected governments of the states no matter what their
political persuasion. 

But he has defended the
Government's right to override the state industrial relations systems. 

"There are national issues
requiring national solutions and no national government will ever shrink
from that but we are a federation and I think there is great value in a
country as geographically large as Australia remaining a strong
federation," he said. 

"And I think whatever might
be said from time to time about my views on these matters I am not a
centralist, I'm a nationalist, I'm a very passionate Australian
nationalist."

the rodent's "choice" .....

‘The Howard Government adopted an
aggressive policy of forcing public servants to sign AWAs. Last year, while
Kevin Andrews was on the hustings promoting the “right to choose” an AWA, he
was embarrassed by the revelation that staff in his own
department were given the “choice” between signing an AWA or joining the
dole queue. 

This kind of bullying is a
standard Howard Government tactic, from university
staff to Antarctic
expeditioners.’

Denying
Workers' Rights .... "This Is Not New"

News from a couple of days ago...

From the ABC, a few days ago...

Rann, Beattie call for constitutional convention
South Australia's Premier, Mike Rann, has called for a constitutional convention in 2008 on the future of the federation.

The Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, has also called for a constitutional convention and referendum in response to the High Court's decision in favour of the Commonwealth workplace relations laws.

Mr Rann says he is concerned by the decision.

'Ultimately it twists the Constitution," he said.

"It also gives the thin end of the wedge for the Federal Government to use its corporations power to interfere in other areas of state responsibility, such as health, education, the environment or planning."

Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter says Mr Rann's proposal is worth considering, but doubts it will prove effective.

"It's an idea that's worth considering, but if you've got a Federal Government that's quite happy to override the states and brush the states aside then you're going to have trouble, aren't you, coming to some sort of resolution that is acceptable to the states," he said.

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Gus: see cartoon at the head of this line of blog... etc