Let's Start All Over Again

Contributors

Rafe Champion studied Agricultural Science at the University of Tasmania and moved on to the social sciences in Sydney. He has worked as a research officer and policy officer in the State department of health and the Premier's Department. He has also been a technical writer and editor with architects, engineers and the Sydney Water Board. He has published extensively on health and welfare issues, also on the philosophy and methods of the human sciences and the rise of economic rationalism. A large amount of unpublished work, including a summary of the achievement of William Hutt can be found on his website at http://www.the-rathouse.com.

Peter Hendy is currently Executive Director of the Australian council of commerce and Industry. Prior to his appointment in 2002 he served with distinction in public administration and policy development at Federal and State levels, for both Liberal and Labor Governments. He was Chief of Staff to the Minister for Defence and Chief of Staff to the Ministers for Workplace Relations and Education. He has very extensive experience in a broad range of business-related policy issues and has been directly involved in policy negotiations and implementation at State, national and international levels. He has also been a senior economic consultant in the private sector where he worked on a range of economic and strategic policy issues.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Queensland and undertook a scholarship in international economic relations at the Australian National University. He has published various papers and articles on public policy issues.

Senator the Hon Nick Minchin grew up and was educated in Sydney. He spent his final year of school in the USA on an American Field Scholarship, where he became fascinated by and knowledgeable about US politics. He graduated from the Australian National University with degrees in Economics and Law.

From 1977--83 he held a number of positions at the Liberal Party Federal Secretariat, including Deputy Federal Director.

In 1985 he was appointed State Director of the South Australian Liberal Party. In 1993, he was elected as a Liberal Senator for South Australia. From 1994 to 1996 he was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.

When the Coalition won Government in March 1996, Senator Minchin was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with two specific responsibilities, making the Native Title Act more workable, and implementing the Government's policy to hold the Constitutional Convention.

He strongly supported the monarchist cause during the referendum campaign of 1999.

Since then he has been given responsibility for a variety of ministerial portfolios and became a cabinet minister in 1998. He is reputed to be the only federalist in the federal cabinet.

Senator Minchin was appointed as Leader of the Government in the Senate on January 27, 2006.

The Hon John Lloyd was appointed to the position of Commissioner of the Australian Building and Construction Commission on 29 September 2005.

Much of his career has been as a senior public servant in the workplace relations field. He has held the following positions over the last 10-15 years:

• Deputy Secretary, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government.
• CEO, Department of Productivity and Labour Relations, WA Government.
• Executive Director, Department of Business and Employment, Victorian Government.
• Commission member, National Occupational Health and Safety Commission.
• Commission member, Comcare.
• Head of the Australian delegation, International Labour Conference, Geneva.
• Chairman, Emergency Services Taskforce, WA Government.

He was appointed Senior Deputy President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in August 2004 to September 2005.

Ken Phillips is co-founder and Executive Director of Independent Contractors of Australia. Ken is an independent contractor operating his own business, as a consultant, researcher, commentator, lobbyist and strategist on labour and workplace reform issues.

Ken is a published authority on independent contractor issues, directs external research on industrial relations versus trade practices issues, and promotes the concept of 'markets in the firm'. He consults to businesses on reform strategies. Through his articles in the Australian Financial Review, other newspapers and think-tank and academic journals, Ken is known for approaching labour issues from outside normal perspectives. Ken was ICA's representative at the 2003 International Labour Organisation debate on the 'Scope of Employment Relationship. He returns to the ILO this year to lobby to protect the rights of independent contractors from international attacks against independent contractor legitimacy. He is a principle lobbyists on the Independent Contractors Act.

Ken has recently published a book entitled Independence and the Death of Employment.

John Stone was born and grew up in Western Australia. He attended Perth Modern, the University of WA and went on to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He joined the Commonwealth Treasury on his return to Australia and was appointed Secretary in 1978. He resigned from the Treasury in 1984 and came to Melbourne as a consultant. He became the founding president of the H R Nicholls Society in 1986. In 1987 he was elected to the Senate as a Queensland National Party Senator but resigned in 1990 to contest, unsuccessfully, the seat of Fisher. Since 1984 he has been a columnist for a number of papers and continues to influence public debate through his opinion pieces which are published in The Australian. He and his wife Nancy have been the driving force behind the Samuel Griffith Society.