THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION AND THE SHAPING OF OUR FEDERAL AND STATE LABOUR LAWS*

Abstract

[In this article, the author makes the serious point that labour laws based upon the “corporations power” under the Australian Constitution will be centred around corporations to the detriment of flesh and blood persons who interact with corporations. Wholesome labour laws seek to balance the rights, duties and obligations of employers and employees as equal le- gal actors in the processes of work and production. However, general la- bour laws of broad application which would be required to found a national labour regime, which were enacted in reliance upon the corpora- tions power, could not for long maintain this balance between employers and employees. In the fullness of time, these labour laws will become little more than a sub-set of corporations law, because inevitably they will fas- ten upon the economic needs of corporations and their employees will be viewed as but one aspect of the productive process in our globalized econ- omy.]