Date & Time: Thursday 18 November 2021 (6pm to 8pm AEDT)

We are delighted to invite you to this year’s AIER Ron McCallum Debate, entitled: ‘Are we Still the Lucky Country? The Future of Workplace Relations in Australia’, chaired by Justice Iain Ross AO, President of the Fair Work Commission.

Sponsored by Harmers Workplace Lawyers, the annual AIER Ron McCallum Debate is the pre-eminent public industrial relations debate in Australia. Once a year, it brings together the leaders of unions, industry and government/independents to debate the pressing issues facing our nation.

• Greg Vines, Deputy Director-General, International Labour Organisation
• Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Minister for Industrial Relations and Attorney-General (video address)
• Hon. Tony Burke, Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations
• Emeritus Professor Ron McCallum AO

Panellists:

• Michele O’Neil, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions
• Andrew McKellar, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Michael Kaine, National Secretary, Transport Workers’ Union
• Innes Willox, Chief Executive, Australian Industry Group
• Emeritus Professor David Peetz, Griffith University
• Emma Walsh, Founder & CEO, Parents At Work
• Sanushka Mudaliar, AIER Executive

Debate topic:
There is a common perception in Australia that ours is “the lucky country”, a land with broadly shared prosperity that has avoided many of the problems faced by other nations. However, when Donald Horne coined that phrase to describe Australia, he meant it ironically as a rebuke and a wake-up call – as an indictment of our society. Has Australia’s luck finally run out? Are we complacent in the face of urgent and significant issues? If we are lucky, lucky for whom? What role has the workplace relations system played in Australia’s luck and shared prosperity? Is it up to the task in its current form? Are the IR stakeholders fully equipped to fulfil their role in facing Australia’s challenges? Or what workplace relations reforms would help Australia make its own luck and to face both the pressing challenges of today and those on the horizon?