How a bloke with a stutter changed the way we talk about wages
Then 140 years later, Danielle (her last name is not given in the book) tells another story, this time to an Inquiry into Price Gouging and Unfair Pricing Practices. There was an imbalance, she argued: working people were suffering while large corporations were posting major profits. 'I never thought I'd be considering whether I pay for a family member's medication or whether we can go to the doctor.' She worked full time as a nurse but was considering a second job to make ends meet.
And British-born James Galloway, a leader of the Stonemasons' Society, fighting for the eight-hour work day, while a Melbourne developer dismissed the demands. Apparently, the timing wasn't right. Such a familiar argument. We also meet Lara Watson, a self-described 'mouthy barmaid', who unionised her entire workplace in six weeks.
Byrne also tells the story of one man who was not a unionist but had an enormous impact on all of us. I knew about the Harvester judgment, but not much about the man who handed it down. He had one of the biggest impacts on Australian working conditions – the president of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, James Bournes Higgins. He'd entered law because he thought constant public speaking would help him with his stutter. His decision to rule on what was really a 'fair and reasonable wage' had an impact on Australians for decades.
Byrne doesn't shy away from telling us that unions face hurdles. Membership is in decline while Australia witnesses 'growing wealth inequality, a reduction in real wages, a loosening of workplace protections, the growth of insecure work, and the rise of the gig economy', he writes. Is this a blip? Or a trajectory?
Loading
Criticisms? He doesn't have much of a gossipy intent. I wanted to know much more about what happened after the ALP lost the 2019 election – it was like the whole nation had rejected Change The Rules. But just a few months later, unions had a decisive effect on managing the COVID pandemic. From being resolutely anti-union, the Coalition took on board the wage subsidy program now known as JobKeeper, a direct result of union advocacy. How on earth did that happen?
And now, the union movement has shored up rights for gig workers, improved gender equity, made it possible for unions to bargain collectively with multiple employers at once.
So there are a few things missing in the here and now. Journalists love the first draft of history. Historians want the full story. Byrne is absolutely going to have to write the next volume.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
4 hours ago
- The Age
A Perth pet hospital nearly sent me broke. But the alternative was worse
Before you hurl fur balls at me, a recent survey by comparison website Finder found that, on average, Aussies would fork out around $6200 to save their furry friends from the 'green dream'. An impressive 8 per cent would spend more than $10,000 to prevent their pet from being euthanised. At the other end of the scale, 6 per cent of people wouldn't cough up a cent to stop their pooch or mouser going to animal heaven. However, before we rapidly point the finger at those miserly mutt and moggie-owners, there are undoubtedly moments when cash-strapped animal-lovers can't afford to splash out weeks' worth of wages to save their pet. I didn't have to subject myself to clinical trials for fast cash because our tax returns had just popped into our bank accounts. But with thousands of Australians drowning in the cost-of-living crisis, having to euthanise your pet because you couldn't afford the bill would be devastating. As a lapsed Catholic, I'm well-versed in guilt, but if I had lacked the coin to save my cat, I would have fallen into a self-condemnation that even the patron saint of suffering, Saint Dymphna, would find impossible to endure. There are quick-access loan schemes, but the exorbitant interest rates and fees mean you'll still be in debt long after Rover and Ruby Tuesday have crossed the rainbow bridge. Consumer watchdog CHOICE has previously slammed such schemes for 'enticing pet owners into unaffordable debt'. 'A beloved pet's illness can be one of the most stressful times in a person's life,' says CHOICE's Head of Policy, Patrick Veyret. 'Lenders … should not be profiting from people's anxieties about their pets.' Like many of these modern-day lay-by schemes, the scheme preys on the most vulnerable. I wouldn't have flinched or even read the fine print when signing up for a pay-later service to keep Salem alive. There will be widespread disagreements about spending money to save or prolong pets' lives. However, I agree with American philosopher and animal rights activist Jeff Sebo that we must remember that our furry friends are significant beings that belong to our moral community. Loading Sebo's The Moral Circle argues humans will prioritise themselves at the expense of many other beings and while our household animal companions might demand some of our attention, we don't always accord equal value to all animals. Sebo addresses some challenging ethical questions about the extent to which we should expand our moral circle, discussing everything from insects to AI. Whatever monetary misgivings I had about Salem instantly evaporated the moment he staggered onto my lap, while projecting phlegm onto my jumper.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
A Perth pet hospital nearly sent me broke. But the alternative was worse
Before you hurl fur balls at me, a recent survey by comparison website Finder found that, on average, Aussies would fork out around $6200 to save their furry friends from the 'green dream'. An impressive 8 per cent would spend more than $10,000 to prevent their pet from being euthanised. At the other end of the scale, 6 per cent of people wouldn't cough up a cent to stop their pooch or mouser going to animal heaven. However, before we rapidly point the finger at those miserly mutt and moggie-owners, there are undoubtedly moments when cash-strapped animal-lovers can't afford to splash out weeks' worth of wages to save their pet. I didn't have to subject myself to clinical trials for fast cash because our tax returns had just popped into our bank accounts. But with thousands of Australians drowning in the cost-of-living crisis, having to euthanise your pet because you couldn't afford the bill would be devastating. As a lapsed Catholic, I'm well-versed in guilt, but if I had lacked the coin to save my cat, I would have fallen into a self-condemnation that even the patron saint of suffering, Saint Dymphna, would find impossible to endure. There are quick-access loan schemes, but the exorbitant interest rates and fees mean you'll still be in debt long after Rover and Ruby Tuesday have crossed the rainbow bridge. Consumer watchdog CHOICE has previously slammed such schemes for 'enticing pet owners into unaffordable debt'. 'A beloved pet's illness can be one of the most stressful times in a person's life,' says CHOICE's Head of Policy, Patrick Veyret. 'Lenders … should not be profiting from people's anxieties about their pets.' Like many of these modern-day lay-by schemes, the scheme preys on the most vulnerable. I wouldn't have flinched or even read the fine print when signing up for a pay-later service to keep Salem alive. There will be widespread disagreements about spending money to save or prolong pets' lives. However, I agree with American philosopher and animal rights activist Jeff Sebo that we must remember that our furry friends are significant beings that belong to our moral community. Loading Sebo's The Moral Circle argues humans will prioritise themselves at the expense of many other beings and while our household animal companions might demand some of our attention, we don't always accord equal value to all animals. Sebo addresses some challenging ethical questions about the extent to which we should expand our moral circle, discussing everything from insects to AI. Whatever monetary misgivings I had about Salem instantly evaporated the moment he staggered onto my lap, while projecting phlegm onto my jumper.
The Advertiser
16 hours ago
- The Advertiser
A friendship preserved: unopened WWII beer honours soldiers' pact
A humble bottle of beer now stands in the nation's war memorial, more than 80 years after it was bought as a promise of enduring friendship. Aussie WWII soldiers, Stan Lewis and Fred Hume, were shipping off with the 2/30th Infantry Battalion in early 1941 when they bought a longneck beer, pledging to share it after returning from the war. The bottle of Tooth's Draught Ale, one of Australia's oldest unopened beers, was bought from the Wingham Hotel on NSW's Mid North Coast by the young soldiers. They entrusted Stan's mother, Rubie Lewis, to look after the bottle while they were deployed, Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson said. "But sadly, [Stan] didn't make it back," the memorial director said. The duo was captured with around 130,000 Allied troops, including 15,000 Australians, after the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese. Both soldiers were imprisoned at Changi and Mr Lewis was sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway that claimed the lives of around 13,000 prisoners of war and more than 100,000 civilians. READ MORE: Historical weapons donated to RSL after raid on underworld figure's house Mr Lewis did not survive his imprisonment and died from disease in horrendous conditions at the age of 23 on August 25, 1943. He was buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand. Two years later, in August 1945, Mr Hume was released as a prisoner of war and returned to Australia. He lived for another forty years, until 1986, when he died aged of 65. The Tooth's Draught Ale stayed in the Lewis family for decades as a tribute to the pair's friendship. It was passed down from Stan's mother to his sister and then his niece before it found a place in the Australian War Memorial. "We are grateful it has now been donated to the Australian War Memorial so we can share their story forged in mateship, with future generations," Assistant Curator Andrew Muir said. A humble bottle of beer now stands in the nation's war memorial, more than 80 years after it was bought as a promise of enduring friendship. Aussie WWII soldiers, Stan Lewis and Fred Hume, were shipping off with the 2/30th Infantry Battalion in early 1941 when they bought a longneck beer, pledging to share it after returning from the war. The bottle of Tooth's Draught Ale, one of Australia's oldest unopened beers, was bought from the Wingham Hotel on NSW's Mid North Coast by the young soldiers. They entrusted Stan's mother, Rubie Lewis, to look after the bottle while they were deployed, Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson said. "But sadly, [Stan] didn't make it back," the memorial director said. The duo was captured with around 130,000 Allied troops, including 15,000 Australians, after the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese. Both soldiers were imprisoned at Changi and Mr Lewis was sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway that claimed the lives of around 13,000 prisoners of war and more than 100,000 civilians. READ MORE: Historical weapons donated to RSL after raid on underworld figure's house Mr Lewis did not survive his imprisonment and died from disease in horrendous conditions at the age of 23 on August 25, 1943. He was buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand. Two years later, in August 1945, Mr Hume was released as a prisoner of war and returned to Australia. He lived for another forty years, until 1986, when he died aged of 65. The Tooth's Draught Ale stayed in the Lewis family for decades as a tribute to the pair's friendship. It was passed down from Stan's mother to his sister and then his niece before it found a place in the Australian War Memorial. "We are grateful it has now been donated to the Australian War Memorial so we can share their story forged in mateship, with future generations," Assistant Curator Andrew Muir said. A humble bottle of beer now stands in the nation's war memorial, more than 80 years after it was bought as a promise of enduring friendship. Aussie WWII soldiers, Stan Lewis and Fred Hume, were shipping off with the 2/30th Infantry Battalion in early 1941 when they bought a longneck beer, pledging to share it after returning from the war. The bottle of Tooth's Draught Ale, one of Australia's oldest unopened beers, was bought from the Wingham Hotel on NSW's Mid North Coast by the young soldiers. They entrusted Stan's mother, Rubie Lewis, to look after the bottle while they were deployed, Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson said. "But sadly, [Stan] didn't make it back," the memorial director said. The duo was captured with around 130,000 Allied troops, including 15,000 Australians, after the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese. Both soldiers were imprisoned at Changi and Mr Lewis was sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway that claimed the lives of around 13,000 prisoners of war and more than 100,000 civilians. READ MORE: Historical weapons donated to RSL after raid on underworld figure's house Mr Lewis did not survive his imprisonment and died from disease in horrendous conditions at the age of 23 on August 25, 1943. He was buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand. Two years later, in August 1945, Mr Hume was released as a prisoner of war and returned to Australia. He lived for another forty years, until 1986, when he died aged of 65. The Tooth's Draught Ale stayed in the Lewis family for decades as a tribute to the pair's friendship. It was passed down from Stan's mother to his sister and then his niece before it found a place in the Australian War Memorial. "We are grateful it has now been donated to the Australian War Memorial so we can share their story forged in mateship, with future generations," Assistant Curator Andrew Muir said. A humble bottle of beer now stands in the nation's war memorial, more than 80 years after it was bought as a promise of enduring friendship. Aussie WWII soldiers, Stan Lewis and Fred Hume, were shipping off with the 2/30th Infantry Battalion in early 1941 when they bought a longneck beer, pledging to share it after returning from the war. The bottle of Tooth's Draught Ale, one of Australia's oldest unopened beers, was bought from the Wingham Hotel on NSW's Mid North Coast by the young soldiers. They entrusted Stan's mother, Rubie Lewis, to look after the bottle while they were deployed, Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson said. "But sadly, [Stan] didn't make it back," the memorial director said. The duo was captured with around 130,000 Allied troops, including 15,000 Australians, after the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese. Both soldiers were imprisoned at Changi and Mr Lewis was sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway that claimed the lives of around 13,000 prisoners of war and more than 100,000 civilians. READ MORE: Historical weapons donated to RSL after raid on underworld figure's house Mr Lewis did not survive his imprisonment and died from disease in horrendous conditions at the age of 23 on August 25, 1943. He was buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand. Two years later, in August 1945, Mr Hume was released as a prisoner of war and returned to Australia. He lived for another forty years, until 1986, when he died aged of 65. The Tooth's Draught Ale stayed in the Lewis family for decades as a tribute to the pair's friendship. It was passed down from Stan's mother to his sister and then his niece before it found a place in the Australian War Memorial. "We are grateful it has now been donated to the Australian War Memorial so we can share their story forged in mateship, with future generations," Assistant Curator Andrew Muir said.
