ABSTRACT
Australia’s traditional labour laws were built upon the ideal of industrial peace. This idea was strongly associated with the work of Justice Henry Bourne Higgins, who as president of the Conciliation and Arbitration Court and through his highly influential writings sought to respond to Australian industrial relations questions through the lens of industrial peace. Industrial peace was developed as the overriding justification for the creation and continuing existence of the conciliation and arbitration mechanism. According to this perspective, the key to accessing employment protection was not issues concerning individuals but rather the collective economic and social vulnerability of employees.
