The proposed Industrial Relations reforms have become an electoral liability because John Howard lacks a sense of irony.
The core proposition of our successful program of economic reform over the last two decades is that protection – whether via tariffs, government ownership or legislated monopolies – is a sentimental illusion that eventually transforms into a nightmarish reality. Believe rules and formulas can make safe your economic future, and all you guarantee is stagnating employment and sliding standards of living.
The Prime Minister has failed to recall that Australia’s reform axiom is built upon a very simple irony: economic security comes from accepting there is no fail-safe method for securing it (other than this belief, of course).
Others have gained the ascendancy on Work Choices because the Government has abandoned its prior support of this policy paradox. They offer nothing in terms of solutions, harping instead on disquiet and dependency within the community.
The apprehension has arisen because the principle that more wealth comes from less government control leads to a tough conclusion: economic nirvana must require a workplace absolutely free of third party intervention.
When confronted with the logical extension of the free market belief, members of the Government abandon their faith. While practical in application, the principle behind Work Choices can easily be cast as a vague philosophy without a tangible plan to deliver better outcomes.
But there is no pre-determined evidence to support the continued implementation of the paradoxical less-is-more theory, given it declares there are no assured solutions for success. It has to be a leap of faith.
The need of proof is just another form of security and pandering to it won’t placate the anxiety – as the Government’s ad campaign can attest. A true believer wouldn’t even try to prove Work Choices a winner when challenged by those calling for hard-nosed proof before committing to it.
As with the floating of the Australian dollar, National Competition Policy, privatisation and numerous other initiatives, the Government’s IR agenda is (or at least was) a matter of trust.
It’s a step into the unknown, knowing that our present circumstances are clearly short of the theoretical mark. And if this gap is not closed completely, all that has been achieved up to now will be at serious risk.
The faith-like nature of reform is why John Howard tries to avoid giving guarantees. Appeals to sanctify Christmas Day and the backyard BBQ miss the point entirely.
No-one is suggesting they are unimportant. It’s a matter of how we deal with them based on an appreciation of what does and doesn’t work in a modern economy.
The only way to contend with such demands is to revert back to the paradox: “What, do you think by making it law all that we value is now safe and secure?”
Despite the propaganda, labour market reform is entirely consistent with our cultural ideal of a “fair go”.
The most endearing aspect of Australian culture is a willingness to assume the best of others. Efforts to discredit Work Choices represent a faithless act that only demonstrates those involved are deficient in the very attribute they claim to be defending.
Which view actually presumes a fair go: trusting employers and workers can sort things out, or a fear-infested willingness to draw a line between us and them?
Leadership is another one of those tricky ironies. It helps us feel safe and in control without giving explicit guarantees.
John Howard should show some by letting go and trusting his instincts, rather than be distracted by those around him lacking in conviction.
Attempting to rationalise the benefits of the reform paradox is a no-win. He’s better off asking those who oppose IR reform if they truly believe legislation and other controlling measures can ultimately buy Australia the trust needed to secure its economic future.
This article appeared in The Australian Financial Review 29 November 2005.
© 2005 Mark Christensen
