Australian Industrial System Research Articles

Embodied energy-based ecological network analysis on growth and development of the national industrial system: An empirical study in Australia

The issue of sustainable energy consumption in the socio-economic system has been widely investigated in recent studies. Embodied energy transfer is also part of the normal economic pattern. To evaluate the sustainability of a system, it is important to consider not only the growth of the system as an indicator, but also the development of the system's structure. Growth and development are two phenomena that need to be quantitively measured because these phenomena closely reflect sustainability. However, little research has studied the effects of sectoral level on growth and development. This research addresses growth and development from a network perspective in order to assess the sectoral effects on system characteristics by using information-based ecological network analysis (IENA) and a hypothetical embodied energy network model. In this study, taking the Australian industrial system as an example, Australian national input–output data and industrial consumption data are used to establish the embodied energy network based on Australian industries. The research constructs an embodied energy cycle network with seven major industries and uses a hypothetical extraction method to establish a hypothesis network for each sector. Then the research compares the hypothetical networks with the original embodied energy network. The differences represent the sectoral effects on the growth and development of the embodied energy network. By using the IENA method with the hypothetical network model, the contribution of a single specific sector can be quantified. Analytical results reveal that the sectoral increases in the volume of the network do not reflect system sustainability, while system sustainability improvement requires sectoral contributions not only to system volume but also to an increase in network organization. The research develops a sectoral-level model to identify the key drivers in the identified system from the network perspective. The results show the sectors with high levels of self-embodied energy flows make high contributions to the improvement of system sustainability in the Australian embodied energy network.

The Australian industrial system in the era of COVID-19

COVID-19 caused sudden and serious damage to the Australian economy. The effects have been spread unevenly, and highlighted the shortcomings of over-reliance on insecure forms of work. The lack of any form of paid leave for casual and other insecure workers undermined the public health response, and was emblematic of the broader consequences of insecurity. Despite its limitations, Australia’s industrial relations system responded to the challenges of the pandemic in a way that less regulated and ‘decentralised’ systems would not have been able to. This article argues that the union movement was critical to Australia’s successful response, and that the award system proved to be an adaptable mechanism to deliver change at a national level while ensuring that the representative voice of workers was heard, and basic industrial protections were not jettisoned. Industry bargaining would have also been a beneficial tool to deal with economy-wide issues of this kind. The article urges that the lessons of the pandemic be learned as we move to a recovery phase and that we ensure there are more secure jobs, better bargaining rights and improvements to basic protections to ensure that workers’ rights are not eroded.

Reforming Australian Industrial Relations?

The Australian industrial system has undergone significant changes over the last 100 years. Through most of that period, the changes in principles and procedures have been incremental and were developed, at the federal level, mostly by the tribunals guided by the prevailing economic climate and the submissions of employers, unions and governments. More recently, the changes have been driven by legislation. The Work Choices legislation marks a radical departure in scope and philosophy from the past. This article reviews the new legislation against the background of the requirements of an economically efficient and socially fair industrial relations system. It concludes that the case for the new system rests mainly on assertions and is not supported by persuasive evidence or argument. By promoting individual bargaining at the expense of collective bargaining and by greatly weakening union power and the role of the industrial umpire, the balance of economic power has been tilted greatly in favour of employer. These circumstances will encourage wage-cost cutting rather than deliver productivity improvement. They violate ILO Conventions; they go against the Australian ethos of a fair society and have the potential of being socially divisive.

The Land of the Lost Long Weekend? Trends in Free Time among Working Age Australians, 1974–1992

Australians have characteristically seen themselves as a people who are unenthusiastic about hard work and more oriented toward the pursuit of leisure. It has often been suggested that the basis of this national identity as a ‘laid back and carefree people’ was the uniquely Australian industrial system. Recently there has been growing alarm that this situation has been eroded by deregulation of the labour market and by the emerging problems for women of balancing work and family. This sense of alarm is supported by high levels of subjectively reported time pressure. However, analysis of a substantial body of diary-based information about time use presents a paradoxical picture. While there continues to be a wide disparity between those population groups experiencing ‘time poverty’ and those who are ‘rich’ in available free time, between 1974 and 1992 average free time has increased. This holds true even after controlling for the social changes that make comparisons over time more difficult. Moreover, international comparisons suggest that Australians may not have realised that their pattern of free time has been typical. Most industrial societies have experienced similar amounts of average free time.

From Insulation Towards Integration: The Australian Industrial System in The Throes Of Change†

From Insulation Towards Integration: The Australian Industrial System in The Throes Of Change†