Queensland Labour Research Articles

What Is “Labor” About Labor State Governments In Australia?

What Is “Labor” About Labor State Governments In Australia?

Use of fetal fibronectin testing in women transferred for threatened preterm labour in remote far north Queensland.

Threatened preterm labour is a common reason for medical transfer from remote communities; however, many transferred women do not deliver preterm. A tool for prediction of preterm birth such as fetal fibronectin may reduce transfers and related social and economic costs. To review the use of fetal fibronectin testing in women transferred for threatened preterm labour from Cape York to Cairns Hospital between 2011 and 2015 and determine the role testing could play in reducing transfers and associated costs. Records from the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Cairns Hospital were accessed. Women transferred solely for threatened preterm labour were included in the study. Fetal fibronectin testing, hospital admission, outpatient stays and birth outcome data were collated and analysed. Costs were assigned using the National Hospital Cost Data Collection, round 19. Forty-seven women were included in the study; however, only 20 underwent fetal fibronectin testing. Transfer of 30 women who had either a negative test or were not tested but delivered at term resulted in 41 inpatient nights and 443 excess outpatient nights, costing an estimated AU$57408. Aeromedical transfers were estimated to cost a further $151500. Adherence to clinical guidelines and greater availability and use of fetal fibronectin testing in Cape York have the potential to reduce aeromedical transfers for threatened preterm labour. Substantial inpatient and excess outpatient stays could be avoided with associated reduction in health system and social costs. Strategies to improve adherence to guidelines and increase access to testing are required.

Born in another country: Women's experience of labour and birth in Queensland, Australia

Women born outside Australia make up more than a fifth of the Queensland birthing population and like migrants in other parts of the world face the challenges of cultural dislocation and possible language barriers. Recognising that labour and birth are major life events the aim was to investigate the experiences of these women in comparison to native-born English speaking women. Secondary analysis of data from a population based survey of women who had recently birthed in Queensland. Self-reported clinical outcomes and quality of interpersonal care of 481 women born outside Australia who spoke a language other than English at home were compared with those of 5569 Australian born women speaking only English. After adjustment for demographic factors and type of birthing facility, women born in another country were less likely to be induced, but more likely to have constant electronic fetal monitoring (EFM), to give birth lying on their back or side, and to have an episiotomy. Most women felt that they were treated as an individual and with kindness and respect. However, women born outside Australia were less likely to report being looked after 'very well' during labour and birth and to be more critical of some aspects of care. In comparing the labour and birth experiences of women born outside the country who spoke another language with native-born English speaking women, the present study presents a largely positive picture. However, there were some marked differences in both clinical and interpersonal aspects of care.

Young women′s recent experience of labour and birth care in Queensland

Backgroundyoung parenthood continues to be an issue of concern in terms of clinical and psychosocial outcomes for mothers and their babies, with higher rates of medical complications such as preterm labour and hypertensive disease and a higher risk of depression. The aim of this study was to investigate how young age impacts on women's experience of intrapartum care. Methodssecondary analysis of data collected in a population based survey of women who had recently given birth in Queensland, comparing clinical and interpersonal aspects of the intrapartum maternity care experience for 237 eligible women aged 15–20 years and 6534 aged more than 20 years. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were undertaken. Resultsin the univariate analysis a number of variables were significantly associated with clinical aspects of labour and birth and perceptions of care: young women were more likely to birth in a public facility, to travel for birth and to live in less economically advantaged areas, to have a normal vaginal birth and to have one carer through labour. They were also less likely to report being treated with respect and kindness and talked to in a way they could understand. In logistic regression models, after adjustment for parity, other socio-demographic factors and mode of birth, younger mothers were still more likely to birth in a public facility, to travel for birth, to be more critical about interpersonal and aspects of care and the hospital or birth centre environment. Conclusionthis study shows how experience of care during labour and birth is different for young women. Young women reported poorer quality interpersonal care which may well reflect an inferior care experience and stereotyping by health professionals, indicating a need for more effective staff engagement with young women at this time.

Peter Abu‘ofa and the Founding of the South Sea Evangelical Mission in the Solomon Islands, 1894–1904

Peter Abu‘ofa is a key figure in the history of the South Sea Evangelical Church in the Solomon Islands. While the modern church recognises that Florence Young created the Queensland Kanaka Mission from which the SSEC grew, Abu‘ofa is remembered as the indigenous founder on Malaita Island. This paper looks at the early years of the church and the activities of Abu‘ofa on Malaita between 1894 and 1904, the year that the decision was made to close the Queensland Kanaka Mission at the end of 1906 and replace it with the South Sea Evangelical Mission, based in the Solomon Islands. Historical memory is that Abu‘ofa returned from Queensland in 1894, which is true, although he also returned again in 1895, and the circumstances are quite different from the established story. Clearly an exceptional person, what has been forgotten is his challenge to the Queensland justice system in 1894, a case which involved the last major incident of kidnapping in the Queensland labour trade. Despite his prominence, our understanding of Abu‘ofa remains frustratingly opaque.

Modern Labor in Queensland: Its Rise and Failings, 1978–98

This article explores the emergence of “modern Labor” in Queensland. Previously under Trades Hall control, Queensland Labor was transformed in 1980 when the Reform Group gained control after intervention by Labor’s Federal Executive. Between 1989 and 2012 it was only out of office once (1996–98). Labor’s restructure, however, brought neither rank-and-file involvement nor a substantial membership. Authority was vested in factional powerbrokers. Whereas prior to 1980 Queensland Labor was a union-controlled party (ie a labour party), it now became a faction-controlled party.

Queensland Labor and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer Policy

Since the Australian Labor Party came to power in Queensland in 1989, social attitudes towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community have undergone significant change. In 1989, the decriminalisation of male-to-male homosexuality was the subject of intense debate, even within the ALP, which ultimately put forward the legislation. Today, policies have evolved considerably, with the Queensland ALP endorsing gay marriage and Anna Bligh, the current Queensland Labor Premier, releasing a YouTube video for the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign to give hope to LGBT youth experiencing harassment and perhaps contemplating suicide. During Labor's time in power, apart from the decriminalisation of male-to-male sexual activity, same-sex relationship laws have been reformed, altruistic surrogacy has been introduced and the presumption of lesbian parenthood has been extended. Some areas of LGBTIQ policy are still being contested, however, with debates surrounding civil unions, an equal age of consent and the existence of the ‘gay panic’ defence continuing. This article considers the progression and limits of these policies and areas of LGBTIQ reform that are still being disputed.

How Did They Do It? Explaining Queensland Labor's Second Electoral Hegemony

Australia's entrenched liberal democratic traditions of a free media, fair and frequent elections and robust public debate might encourage outside observers to assume Australia is subject to frequent changes in government. The reality is very different: Australian politics have instead been ‘largely unchanged’ since the beginning of our bipolar party system in 1910 (Aitkin 1977, p. 1), with Australians re-electing incumbents on numerous occasions for decades on end. The obvious federal example is the 23-year dominance of the Liberal-Country Party Coalition, first elected in 1949 and re-endorsed at the following eight House of Representatives elections. Even more protracted electoral hegemonies have been found at state level, including Labor's control of Tasmania (1934–82, except for 1969–72) and New South Wales (1941–65), and the Liberals' hold on Victoria (1952–82) and South Australia (1938–65, most unusually under one Premier, Thomas Playford). It is therefore not a question of whether parties can enjoy excessively long hegemonies in Australia; it is instead one of how they achieve it.

Tourism Reform, Policy and Development in Queensland, 1989–2011

Tourism has been a major driver of economic and social development in Queensland since the end of World War II. In 2011, tourism's direct contribution to the economy was estimated to be $7.8 billion, and it generated direct employment of an estimated 118,000 full-time equivalent jobs (Queensland Tourism 2011). The multiplier effects of tourism account for another $9.2 billion, making it the most important component of the state's service sector. These figures suggest that the approach adopted by the Labor government over the last two decades to manage and develop Queensland tourism has generally been positive. However, a closer examination of recent trends and criticisms reveals that visitor demand has flat-lined: the industry is struggling under the weight of global and local pressures, investment has slowed, and there are issues of stagnating demand, competitiveness, service quality, industry capacity and innovation. Moreover, Queensland is losing international market share compared with New South Wales and Victoria (Tourism Research Australia 2011). Given that governments have a key role to play in creating and maintaining policy conditions that contribute to both a healthy economy and social well-being, what have been the Queensland Labor government's contributions to tourism, and what are the key challenges into the future?

How Smart Now? The Bligh Government and the Unravelling of the ‘Smart State’ Vision, 2007–11

The articulation of a ‘Smart State’ strategy by the Beattie and Bligh governments since 1998 represents, in large part, the continuation of a long Queensland tradition, in which governments have secured legitimacy by fostering economic growth and employment. For Queensland Labor, however, ‘Smart State’ programs also represented a key survival strategy as Labor's historic base among workers employed in agriculture, mining and manufacturing shrank into political insignificance. By 2009–10, these three sectors together employed only one worker in seven (Queensland Treasury 2010, p. 16). For this reason, in coming to office in September 2007, Anna Bligh sought both to continue and transcend the ‘Smart State’ strategy of her predecessor. In a series of policy documents launched with considerable fanfare in 2008–09 — ‘Towards Q2’, the ‘Smart Industry Policy and Decision Making Framework’ and the ‘Queensland Renewable Energy Plan’ — Bligh outlined her own vision for Queensland. Central to this vision was the embracing of a ‘green’ agenda — one that tapped into concerns shared by many of Queensland's growing cohort of middle-class professionals. In her first two years in office, Bligh pledged to continue the $9 billion Water Grid in the state's south-east corner, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one-third, spend $300 million on ‘clean coal’ power generation and provide rebates for households installing solar hot water systems. All of this added considerably to the budget commitments made under Beattie. In highlighting its program for Queensland in 2008, the Bligh government proudly declared that it was ‘set to invest $17 billion’ in the ensuing year (Department of Premier and Cabinet 2008, p. 10).

'Good-bye the State's Progress': State Enterprise and Labor's Plan for a North Queensland Steel Industry, 1915-20

The Ryan and Theodore Queensland Labor governments of 1915-20 have been presented as trailblazers in the development of policies of state ownership, but also as examples of the practical limits of Labor's approach. While most previous work has focused on the enterprises that were successfully established, such as the butchers' shops and the state hotel, this article examines the ultimately unfulfilled plans to build a state iron and steel works in northern Queensland. It sets the plans to establish a nationalised iron and steel industry in Queensland in its specific local and regional context, and acknowledges the influence of a broader regional development agenda. It is argued that while the nationalisation issue has traditionally been seen in 'big picture' terms, regional and local factors need to be considered in more detail.

The 1900s

Queensland politics during the first decade after Federation is a subject which has received little attention from historians and political scientists. In general, they have shown a marked lack of enthusiasm for the era, preferring to rush on to the period after 1915 — the year in which Queensland Labor formed its first viable, long-term government. In this essay, I propose to show that the 1900s was in fact an important turning point in Queensland history. I will show how the almost exclusively developmental political culture of Queensland was successfully challenged by Liberal and Labor parliamentary forces when the Philp government (1899–1903) could not respond adequately to the problems of Federation and domestic recession. I shall also demonstrate that the tentative steps towards social intervention made by Queensland governments during 1903–15 reflected a significant change in political attitudes within a parliament which had traditionally concentrated on supporting capitalist-orientated development. The moderate electoral, industrial and education reforms offered during the 1900s paved the way for the more radical state interventions offered by subsequent Labor administrations between 1915 and 1957.

A 'Cosy Relationship' If You Had It: Queensland Labor's Arbitration System and Union Organising Strategies in Rockhampton, 1916-57

Critics of the progressive decline in membership in Australian unions attribute the predicament to a failure to develop independent organising strategies during decades of passive over-reliance on preference clauses under a compulsory industrial arbitration system. To test the historical validity of these accusations, this article examines six major unions in Rockhampton during 40 years under a state Labor arbitration system. Using a broad definition of organising - recruitment of members, fostering membership participation and creating union awareness and presence in the workplace - this paper reveals two fallacies about union 'dependence'. Firstly, not all unions relied on arbitration for organising: denied the privilege of preference or by choice, some adopted mobilisational strategies. Secondly, rather than being passively dependent on preference clauses, arbitrationist unions actively exploited the system. Through an intimate relationship between compliant unions and Queensland Labor's apparatus, arbitration facilitated organising for and empowered those unions. In the past decade, the Australian union movement has made a concerted effort to devise new strategies for union organising to stem a progressive, and now acute, decline in membership. From a peak of some 60 per cent in the 1950s, unionisation of the workforce has plummeted to only 25 per cent in 2000.1 Industrial relations commentators direct much of their criticism for this predicament at unions themselves for failing to develop adequate recruitment strategies to cope with changing economic circumstances and increasingly deregulated workplace relations. Inability to adapt to these changes, critics claim, stems from complacency bred by years of reliance on Australia's unique system of state-controlled compulsory arbitration. Under that regime, unions were supposedly 'buttressed' by preference clauses in awards which guaranteed membership with minimal organising effort.2 In sheeting home much of the blame for the contemporary situation to the union movement's adherence to 'traditional labourism',3 these critics fail to appreciate the ways in which some unions actively exploited the arbitration system to facilitate organising. They also overlook other organising strategies used by unions in the arbitration era, either through necessity or choice. Investigating past strategies is unlikely to present any solutions for the current dilemma because social circumstances and practices have changed as profoundly as the political and economic. Rather, the intention of this paper is to shed light on the past for its own sake and to redress the gaps in historical knowledge. This paper begins from the viewpoint that union organising involves more than simply amassing membership. It also includes fostering rank-and-file participation in union affairs. Moreover, reflecting Bradon Ellem's view that the best organising strategy is 'the traditional base of trade unionism - the vigorous defence of wages and conditions',4 organising entails creating a strong union awareness and presence in the workplace to protect workers' interests to the greatest possible extent.

The Queensland Labour Market: An Empirical Analysis of Labour Supply and Demand

The Queensland Labour Market: An Empirical Analysis of Labour Supply and Demand

Labour Management in the Queensland Housing Commission Under a Labor Government, 1945-56

A ustralian governments, especially Labor governments, have traditionally enjoyed a reputation for being 'good' employers. However; efforts to evaluate tbis reputa tion and to explore the factors shaping management strategies have been limited. This article examines these issues through a case study of the Queensland Housing Commis sion's management of its building workforce in the years following the Second World War. In this case, the Queensland Labor government did not use its own workforce to establisb new standards and its conservative approach to labour management strategies contrasted with a more progressive approach to industrial legislation. The article draws on the notion of political contingency to explain this apparent contradiction.

Regulation of Aboriginal Labour in Queensland: Protectors, Agreements and Trust Accounts 1897-1965

In 1903, the Queensland government began to regulate the employment of Aborigines by requiring a contract of employment between employers and their Aboriginal workers and the establishment of a trust account in the Aborigines' names into which part of the wages were to be paid. The system which was designed to prevent exploitation by employers became a device for the paternalist control of Aborigines by the State. The system was later closely linked to assimilation policies. The system provided protectors with extraordinary powers over the lives of working Aborigines. The State could sanction not only where Aborigines could be employed, but how they could spend their wages. This article examines the origins, development and administration of the trust account system in Queensland from its inception until its abolition in the 1960s.

Review article: Revisionism and its enemies: Debating the queensland labour trade∗

Cane and Labour: the political economy of the Queensland sugar industry, 1862–1906. By Adrian Graves. Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh Press, 1993. xxi, 282 pp, maps, index. ISBN 0–7486–011711. £35 stg.

'Every man's right'

In 1990, the Queensland Government launched its now discredited Home Ownership Made Easy scheme. HOME provided financial assistance to ‘moderate’ income earners by offering fixed interest, low start loans, and was accompanied by HOME Shared and HOME Buy which targeted public housing tenants. While HOME differed from past programs in its detail, it can be seen as the most recent attempt by a State Labor Government to extend owner occupation in Queensland. Between 1915 and 1957, the Queensland Labor Party actively sought to promote home ownership through a range of programs including the Workers' Dwellings and Workers' Homes schemes. These programs were a reflection of a fundamental belief in home ownership as ‘every man's right’ and as an ‘essential’ element of the ‘Australian way of life’. Thus, Queensland Labor displayed none of the ambivalence which characterised Labor Party attitudes to home ownership elsewhere in Australia. Williams contends that the Australian Labor Party was trapped between its commitment to assisting the poor, its reluctance to play the role of landlord, and its support for home ownership. The Queensland Party experienced no such ideological quandary. While other Labor Governments tended to accept an obligation to provide public rental accommodation for those unable to buy homes of their own, Queensland Labor continued to display a distaste for ‘public landlordism’.

'Fallen among Thieves': Aboriginal Labour and State Control in Inter-War Queensland

Early in his writing career, Aboriginal author Bill Rosser was admonished by a white critic for dwelling too exclusively upon the negative aspects of 'native administration' in Queensland and never reporting on 'the good things'. When Rosser in turn challenged this man to venture what some of these 'good things' were particularly in relation to the running of Palm Island the latter poked in the dust with his toe for some time before responding meekly, 'Well, Bill, I'm buggered if I know!' Although a consistently trenchant critic of Aboriginal policy throughout Australia, Charles Rowley in 1972 had laid claim to having a more substantial answer than this to Rosser's riposte. Even though Queensland's policies in relation to Murries were exploitative, authoritarian and oppressive, Rowley contended, its race relations record at least revealed higher expenditure per capita upon Aboriginal 'welfare' than elsewhere in Australia as well as the official insistence upon and policing of higher Aboriginal wage-rates overall. What Rowley's analysis failed to address, however, was the unspoken inter relationship between these two apparent blessings for Aboriginal remuneration, in return for services to both private employers and the State, was extensively channelled back into Government revenue rather than ever passing through the hands of the Aboriginal workers and their dependents. To a remarkable degree, these workers themselves, under strict guidance and duress, were increasingly supplying the official expenditure set aside for their own dismally imposed segregation and repression.2 The official establishment of basic wage rates and labour agreement forms for Aboriginal workers in Queensland at the time of Federation had been instituted originally to counter situations of widespread employer abuse. The ill-treatment and deprivation encountered on many pastoral stations, commented Southern Aboriginal Protector, Archibald Meston in July 1900, were 'a disgrace to Queensland'. Employment conditions for Aborigines were such as to 'excite the horror of the Nation'.3 State intervention in this regard was therefore calculated to provide a hedge of protection albeit a low one against white bosses who treated black workers 'more as a part of the stock or working plant than a

Marx and the Queensland Labour Trade

Marx and the Queensland Labour Trade