The H.R. Nicholls Society is a right-wing Australian think tank on industrial relations. It was created in March 1986 after John Stone, Peter Costello, Barrie Purvis, and Ray Evans organised a seminar aimed at discussing the Hancock Report and other industrial matters.^[1] In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... This article is about the institution. ... A Boeing employee speaks at a trade union rally The field of industrial relations looks at the relationship between management and workers, particularly groups of workers represented by a union. ... John Stone (born 1929) was a senior Australian civil servant and member of the Australian Senate. ... Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian politician. ... Ray Evans is a conservative Australian business leader and intellectual. ... The Hancock Report was a report on the Australian Industrial Relations system by the Federal Government. ...

The Society is named after Henry Richard Nicholls, an editor of the Hobart "Mercury" who in 1911 published an editorial criticising Henry Higgins, then a High Court judge and President of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, accusing Higgins of behaving in a politically partisan and unjudicial manner after attacking a barrister.^[1] This led to Nicholls being prosecuted for contempt of court by the Tasmanian Attorney General, only to be acquitted by the full bench of the High Court.^{[1] [2]} The whole affair was a humiliation for Higgins, who wanted Nicholls to be convicted, as the acquittal aroused national publicity and widespread celebrations in Hobart. Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Hon H.B. Higgins For the fictional character Henry Higgins see Pygmalion or My Fair Lady. ... The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is a defunct Australian court, which had jurisdiction to arbitrate interstate industrial disputes. ... Contempt of court is a court ruling which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, deems an individual as holding contempt for the court, its process, and its invested powers. ... Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Area 90,758 km² (7th)  - Land 68,401 km²  - Water 22,357 km² (24. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ...

Regular Contributors to the Society's publications include Ray Evans, Adam Bisits and Des Moore, the Director of the Institute for Private Enterprise. Evans is the President of the Society.^[3] Des Moore is an Australian economist and political commentator. ... The Institute for Private Enterprise is an Australian political group established for the purposes of promoting the cause of private enterprise and reducing the role of the government in economic affairs. ... Ray Evans is a conservative Australian business leader and intellectual. ... For other uses, see President (disambiguation). ...

Aims and objectives

The Society supports the deregulation of the Australian Industrial Relations System, including the abolition of the award system, the widespread use of individual employment contracts and the lowering of minimum wages. The Society only believes in limited labour market regulation, as excessive minimum wages^[4] and job security lead to higher unemployment and lower productivity. Since its inception, the Society has firmly advocated urgent reform of the labour market in order to ensure Australia's international competitiveness and prosperity. On its website, the Society lists its aims and objectives:

1. To promote discussion about the operation of industrial relations in Australia including the system of determining wages and other conditions of employment.
2. To promote the rule of law with respect to employers and employee organisations alike.
3. To promote reform of the current wage-fixing system.
4. To support the necessity for labour relations to be conducted in such a way as to promote economic development in Australia.

Politics

The Society has strong ties with the Liberal Party of Australia. For example, former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello was one of the society's founding members. This article is about the modern Australian political party. ... Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian politician. ...

The Society is controversial because of its views, and rather disliked by the left side of Australian politics. For example, in 1986 the then Labor Prime Minister, Bob Hawke branded the Society as a group of "political troglodytes and economic lunatics".^[5] Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke, AC (born 9 December 1929) was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia after previously being an Australian trade union leader. ...

Former Federal Finance Minister Nick Minchin caused controversy in early 2006 in a speech at a Society function where he told the audience that the coalition "knew its reform to WorkChoices were not popular but the process of change must continue",^[6] and that "there is still a long way to go... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it..."^[7] The Australian Labor Party has stated that "We know the HR Nicholls society supports the abolition of awards, supports the abolition of the minimum wage, supports the abolition of the independent umpire, the Industrial Relations Commission".^[8] Senator Nicholas Minchin Nicholas Hugh Minchin (born 15 April 1953), Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 1993, representing South Australia. ... WorkChoices, or the Workplace Relations Act 1996 as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Workchoices) Act 2005, came into effect in March 2006. ... ALP redirects here. ...

In 2007, the Society criticised the WorkChoices legislation for creating even more regulation. The Society, which in fact supports deregulation of the labour market to the extent that employers and employees simply form contracts with each other and then deal with any disputes via the courts, admonished the WorkChoices model particularly for its length and the amount of red tape, claiming it was "all about regulation" and comparing it to the "old Soviet system of command and control", as well as on federalist grounds saying "This attempt on his part to diminish the role of the states, to concentrate all power in Canberra, is very much to Australia's detriment" ^[9]. Society President Ray Evans stated that in creating WorkChoices "John Howard has assumed an omnipotence that Labor will inherit and to which no mortal should aspire. It will end in tears."^[10] Des Moore stated on behalf of the Society that "The HR Nicholls Society is very disappointed with the work choices changes."^[11] WorkChoices, or the Workplace Relations Act 1996 as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Workchoices) Act 2005, came into effect in March 2006. ... John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and the 25th Prime Minister of Australia. ...

External links

• Official site

References