'Light Touch' Labour Regulation by State Governments in Australia: A Preliminary Assessment

Abstract

Analysis of the role of the state in shaping industrial relations and employment practices has traditionally focused on labour law. Certainly, a key role of government has been to set labour standards through legislation, or by establishing legal systems of industrial relations whereby conflicts between employers and unions are resolved and there is a mechanism for determination of appropriate rights and standards for employers and employees. Recently, however, a number of developments - including criticisms of labour law's capacity to accommodate flexibility in employment practices at the level of the firm (often referred to as a need for labour market deregulation), questions about the eff..