THE HIGH Court of Australia recently confirmed it would hear state government challenges to the constitutional validity of the Commonwealth’s WorkChoices legislation
THE HIGH Court of Australia confirmed recently it would hear state government challenges to the constitutional validity of the Commonwealth’s WorkChoices legislation.
The High Court determined it has the jurisdiction to hear the challenges launched by the governments of NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. Tasmania and Victoria have yet to file their cases.
The matter will be heard by the full bench of the High Court from 8-12 May 2006, while a further directions hearing is scheduled for 9 March.
Based on the Howard Government’s interpretation of the Constitution’s corporations power, it plans to override state industrial relations systems and bring up to 90 per cent of employees under a single federal system.
Former NSW Attorney-General Jeff Shaw, who is currently working with a legal team to examine whether the Federal Government’s plans are unconstitutional, said the corporations power extends only to the regulation of corporations and was never meant to extinguish state industrial relations systems.
NSW Minister for Industrial Relations, John Della Bosca, voiced concerns that the Commonwealth’s failure to introduce regulations needed to support the new law may still delay the Court in setting dates for its hearings.
“The Howard Government’s continued reluctance to disclose the content of these regulations speaks volumes about how dangerously rash and ill-conceived this whole package is,” he said.
“It is clear now that these regulations will be even more complex and unbalanced than the legislation itself, and that the Howard Government is struggling to paper over the worst of their shortcomings.”
