I have an article at The Drum, Industrial reform: ignore fairness at your peril. There are many political traps for a right-of-centre government in trying to improve the operation of our industrial relations system, but the most dangerous is thinking that the most important reform is the removal of the role of our system of industrial tribunals. This was the central point in my article:

All too often, the core issue about industrial relations reform is not about outcomes, but about the structure of the system itself. Australia has developed its own unique and largely successful system of tribunals that has been the perennial target for elimination by economists since it was first formed.

And so it worries me that we are there once again. This is the basic outline of what is being investigated according to the Productivity Commission website:

In undertaking this inquiry, the Commission has been asked to review the impact of the workplace relations framework… [my emphasis]

If the continuation of industrial tribunals were off the PC agenda, and instead the issue was how our existing industrial relations system could be made to function for the better, I would be much more confident that the PC inquiry might come up with something of genuine value.

So my prime recommendation to the PC is this. If you start from the premise that industrial tribunals are here to stay, there is a possibility that the inquiry might do some serious good. But if that is not your premise, I would expect little good to come from this inquiry.

I, of course, go much farther. I think that industrial tribunals are a positive benefit to the smooth operation of this economy. I don’t think trying to remove them would be bad only because the politics are wrong. I think they should be left alone because the economic consequences of trying to remove them would be so damaging.

In the UK, The Times required Fortress Wapping to introduce new technology. At The Australian, it was IR as usual and a relatively smooth transition. Recognising the nature of the difference will help you understand how important our industrial relations system is to our economic prosperity.