Industrial Relations in Queensland Under an LNP Government

Abstract

The Liberal National Party (‘LNP’) won 78 out of a possible 89 seats in Queensland’s 2012 state election. Facing a budget blowout, the new Government soon used its control of the state’s unicameral parliament to implement a contentious public sector reform agenda. The LNP’s amendments to Queensland’s employment laws struck at the very heart of many of the accepted ‘ground rules’ of industrial relations. Perhaps most signif-icantly, the Government used its parliamentary majority to remove job security commit-ments given to public servants, paving the way for the loss of thousands of jobs. This paper sets out the key industrial relations reforms adopted by the LNP. The authors dis-cuss the Government’s rationale for the changes, and the reaction from Queensland’s trade union movement. The article concludes with some general observations about the changes adopted during the LNP’s term of Government; a period which will undoubtedly be remembered as a controversial part of Queensland’s industrial relations history.