Section 51 of the Constitution of Australia grants legislative power to the Australian Commonwealth Parliament only when subject to the constitution. The section includes important heads of power such as the interstate trade and commerce power, the corporations power and the external affairs power. This essay will explore the impact of s 51(xxxv) on labour law by analysing various cases and articles from the reading material, in relation to the historical origins of s 51(35) and the arbitration system, the use of the power and the turning point in its use.
HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF S 51(XXXV) & THE ARBITRATION SYSTEM
For most of the 20th century, the Commonwealth industrial relations law was based on the conciliation and arbitration …show more content…
Under this power, the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was established in 1904 by the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 of the Parliament of Australia. The forced acceptance by powerbrokers of this compulsory arbitration scheme did not entirely result in a reconfiguration of the political power between unions and employers. In fact, powerbrokers remained intent on preserving the status quo by channeling disagreements into legal disputes in state controlled courts, which would ultimately eliminate strikes due to legal …show more content…
The decisions by the High Court in cases relating to the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth’s compulsory arbitration system, provided the judiciary with the opportunity to play a fundamental role in fashioning the contours of labour law. A major constitutional step-change occurred in 2005, when the Howard Government’s Work Choices legislation was founded primarily on the corporations power. This symbolic corporatisation of labour law could be seen as the end of era for the labour power provision and reflected a determination on the part of the Federal Government at the time to minimize the role of ‘third parties’ such as trade