A century has elapsed since the 'New Protection' policy of the newly established Commonwealth government of Australia gave birth to the 'basic wage' principle following the 'Harvester' judgement. This paper re-examines, with special reference to economic considerations - unemployment, the tariff, and the wage structure - the controversy surrounding the initial formulation of this principle and the evolution of its application under the federal wage fixing tribunals and the legislation under which they operated. It concludes that even the vestigial remains of the concept underlying Harvester have progressively disappeared from Australian wage fixing principles. Copyright 2008 The Author. Journal compilation Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd and the Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand 2008.
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Article provided by Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd and the Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand in its journal Australian Economic History Review.
Volume (Year): 48 (2008) Issue (Month): 3 (November) Pages: 280-300 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
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