H. R. Nicholls Society
Encyclopedia
The H.R. Nicholls Society is an Australia
n think tank
of the New Right
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.
The Society is named after Henry Richard Nicholls (183013 August 1912), an editor of the Hobart
newspaper The Mercury
, who in 1911 published an editorial criticising H. B. 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. This led to Nicholls being prosecuted for contempt of court
by the Tasmania
n Attorney-General, only to be acquitted by the full bench of the High Court.
Regular contributors to the Society's publications include Ray Evans, Adam Bisits and Des Moore
, the Director of the Institute for Private Enterprise. Adam Bisits is the President of the Society, replacing Evans
, who stepped down in 2010.
lead to higher unemployment
and lower productivity
. Since its inception, the Society has advocated what it views as reform of the labour market in order to ensure what it views as Australia's international competitiveness and prosperity. On its website, the Society lists its aims and objectives:
. For example, former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello
was one of the society's founding members.
In 1986, then Prime Minister and former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
, Bob Hawke
, branded the Society as a group of "political troglodytes and economic lunatics".
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", and that "there is still a long way to go... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it..."
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".
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". 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." Des Moore stated on behalf of the Society that "The HR Nicholls Society is very disappointed with the work choices changes."
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
of the New Right
New Right
New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
on industrial relations. It was created in March 1986 after John Stone
John Stone (Australian politician)
John Owen Stone is a former Australian politician. He served as Secretary to the Treasury between 1979 and 1984,and as a Senator for Queensland representing the National Party from 1987 to 1990.-Biography:John Stone was born in 1929...
, Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
, Barrie Purvis, and Ray Evans organised a seminar aimed at discussing the Hancock Report
Hancock Report
The Hancock Report was a report on the Australian Industrial Relations system by the Federal Government. The report argued for a centralised industrial relations system centred around awards, and argued against de-centralisation and enterprise bargaining...
and other industrial matters.
The Society is named after Henry Richard Nicholls (183013 August 1912), an editor of the Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
newspaper The Mercury
The Mercury (Hobart)
The Mercury is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd, part of News Limited and News Corporation...
, who in 1911 published an editorial criticising H. B. Higgins
H. B. Higgins
Henry Bournes Higgins , Australian politician and judge, always known in his lifetime as H. B. Higgins, was a highly influential figure in Australian politics and law.-Career:...
, then a High Court judge and President of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is a defunct Australian court, which had jurisdiction to arbitrate interstate industrial disputes....
, accusing Higgins of behaving in a politically partisan and unjudicial manner after attacking a barrister. This led to Nicholls being prosecuted for contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
by the Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n Attorney-General, only to be acquitted by the full bench of the High Court.
Regular contributors to the Society's publications include Ray Evans, Adam Bisits and Des Moore
Des Moore
Des Moore is an Australian economist and political commentator. He was deputy secretary of the Federal Treasury until 1987. From 1987 to 1996 he worked for the Institute of Public Affairs....
, the Director of the Institute for Private Enterprise. Adam Bisits is the President of the Society, replacing Evans
Ray Evans (Australian businessman)
Ray Evans is an Australian business leader, a conservative, and campaigner against climate change mitigation efforts.-Early years:Evans was educated at the Melbourne High School before he attended University of Melbourne and graduated in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering...
, who stepped down in 2010.
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 it believes that excessive minimum wages and job securityJob security
Job security is the probability that an individual will keep his or her job; a job with a high level of job security is such that a person with the job would have a small chance of becoming unemployed.-Factors affecting job security:...
lead to higher unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
and lower productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
. Since its inception, the Society has advocated what it views as reform of the labour market in order to ensure what it views as Australia's international competitiveness and prosperity. On its website, the Society lists its aims and objectives:
- To promote discussion about the operation of industrial relations in Australia including the system of determining wages and other conditions of employment.
- To promote the rule of law with respect to employers and employee organisations alike.
- To promote reform of the current wage-fixing system.
- 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 AustraliaLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. For example, former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
was one of the society's founding members.
In 1986, then Prime Minister and former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
, Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
, branded the Society as a group of "political troglodytes and economic lunatics".
Former Federal Finance Minister Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin
Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government....
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
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
were not popular but the process of change must continue", and that "there is still a long way to go... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it..."
The Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
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".
In 2007, the Society criticised the WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
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". Society President Ray Evans stated that in creating WorkChoices "John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
has assumed an omnipotence that Labor will inherit and to which no mortal should aspire. It will end in tears." Des Moore stated on behalf of the Society that "The HR Nicholls Society is very disappointed with the work choices changes."