Gallagher almost singlehandedly virtually killed off support for Unions in the 80’s. I was on big sites back then, and the change from pre BLF scandals, to 2 years post, was incredible.
Business owners take huge financial risks so deserve some reward.
No coincidence that every time there is a wage hike either when I’ve been an employer or an employee people lose jobs.
In my current job everyone was celebrating a 2% pay rise last year but guess what happened 2 weeks later? Everyone’s hours got cut by 1 hour per week so everyone is worse off.
In fairness, you’ve just described several reasons that unions are essential.
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2 / 3rds of small businesses fail in the first 5 or so years.
If a 2% payrise hurts your bottom line to the point of reducing hours etc, you are probably going to be one of them.
Shitz me to tears when SBO say wages will break them. If you aren’t a good enough Business person to pay decent wages, just ■■■■ off out of it and get your self a job.
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I didn’t have a huge issue with it. My boss is there to make a profit and if the company doesn’t make a profit none of us have jobs simple as that.
Thankfully I was able to convince the boss to lay off a couple of staff so that my “team” could take onthe extra hours
My employer is close to the largest business in Australia
Soooo, … not a fkn SMALL business then! 
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Bacchus: one of the problems with low union membership could be the cost of union membership for low wage workers and for gig workers with uncertain weekly incomes . For instance, the fees for HSU membership are close to $600 a year. Although payment can be staggered, it’s still a hit on the fortnightly pay packet and available discounts are fairly marginal.
I’ve explained that already. I got out of small business years ago (owned several pubs) as It was just getting too hard to make good money. Best move I’ve made as my employer now has all the risk
Off topic but there was a lot of ‘Free Norm’ graffiti around the Perth at the time. I didn’t know who Norm Gallagher was but some wag added a line to ‘Norm’ which changed it to ‘Free Worm’. Which then started a trend where people started putting “Free _____” all over the place.
Not sure how things went for N Gallagher but his plight at least brought brought some joy to the people of Perth for a short while there.
Not wrong.
I recall a situation when I was new to construction that involved the TWU and CFMEU on a heavily unionised shopping centre redevelopment in Perth in the late 80’s. We had a minor job on one of the tenancies and needed to deliver supplies to the lads on site. Our driver was a paid up member of the Transport Workers Union and had never had a problem delivering gear to union sites previously. He showed his credentials to the TWU shop stupid and was about to proceed when the CFMEU shop stupid intervened, saying he could drive on site but wasn’t allowed to unload. This charade went on for about 20 minutes until the driver called back to HQ to let us know of his dilemma. I was the most senior employee available at the time so I went to site to see what the problem was. These two dorks continued the back and forth for a while until I realised that they were working in tandem to enforce an unofficial ‘tax’ on us. Turns out that for a carton for each of the shop stupids + 5 more cartons each for the boys after lunch was the price we needed to pay in order to keep things moving. It was a smallish price to pay so I payed the ‘tax’ from petty cash so we could get on with life. Turns out we were lucky. Some businesses were hit for supplies and/or renovations at the homes (and holiday homes) of key union members. And those that didn’t were frustrated and stymied on that job and all over town until they caved or even went out of business.
They were nothing short of gangsters and anyone who was around during those times and got targeted have a very dim view of unions that extends right through to today.
What’s going on?
Reasonable debate about policies?
Here?
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Go get him Zali. Oh lord it would be so fkn good. 
‘Diabolically bad’ poll: Abbott facing 12 per cent swing to lose seat
Michael Koziol
5-6 minutes
The former prime minister faces a swing of about 12 per cent, the size of his current margin.
Mr Abbott recruited newly minted NSW cabinet minister Gareth Ward to help doorknock in Allambie Heights on Saturday. Many Liberals believe Mr Abbott will cling on, and even those familiar with the “diabolical” polling argue he can still win.
He has a $1 million war chest from fundraising and his Advance Australia lobby group allies - although Ms Steggall is being backed by activist group GetUp.
In Wentworth, it is expected the Liberals will win back a chunk of their traditional voters who supported independent Kerryn Phelps in the byelection last October because they were angry about the ousting of Mr Turnbull.
But Dr Phelps - who now enjoys a higher profile as an elected MP - could also attract new supporters who have seen her in action and applaud her for the so-called medevac laws.
Holding just 74 seats in what will be a 151-seat Parliament, Mr Morrison goes into this election in the unenviable position of having to win seats to form a majority government.
Although polls point to a likely Labor victory, the Coalition remains hopeful of picking up a number of seats, thanks to a combination of local factors and favourable circumstances.
While success in this handful of electorates would not protect the government from the sizeable losses it expects in Victoria, it could take the shine off Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s victory or even deny him a parliamentary majority.
Liberal sources said they believed they were ahead in Lindsay, the Penrith-based seat held by Labor’s Emma Husar held on a slim 1.1 per cent margin. The first-term MP is leaving politics against her will following a series of scandals.
Liberal candidate Melissa McIntosh is close to Mr Morrison’s key ally Alex Hawke, and will benefit from significant head office support. She was on the hustings on Friday spruiking the congestion busting" elements of last week’s budget - a sensitive issue in Lindsay as voters confront choked roads in Sydney’s west.
The government has its eye on other outer suburban seats: Macarthur in the south-west and Dobell on the Central Coast, though both are long shots given Labor’s current margin.
In Gilmore, the Liberal Party hopes to win by striking a preference deal with its former candidate Grant Schultz, who was dumped by Mr Morrison in favour of the high-profile businessman and former Labor Party president Warren Mundine.
The key state of Queensland - where the government holds eight seats on a margin of 4 per cent or less - could be a fizzer, with both sides braced for a status quo result. A senior Liberal source said the state remained “messy”.
The Townsville-based seat of Herbert is low-hanging fruit for the Coalition - it is the most marginal electorate in the country, held by Labor’s Cathy O’Toole by just 37 votes.
Liberal National candidate Phillip Thompson is a former soldier who served in East Timor and Afghanistan, where he was wounded by an improvised explosive. Since then he has worked in mental wellbeing and suicide prevention.
Mr Thompson is running a campaign that focuses strongly on jobs, including strident support for the Adani coal mine and opening up the Galilee Basin. He says he is not worried about the party’s poor national polling because Mr Morrison has been a boon locally.
“He has turned and - and is continuing to turn - the ship around,” Mr Thompson said.
“He sat in the pub, had a beer and spoke with people. He answered every question - it didn’t matter if some of them were wrong, which they were. He is a phenomenal leader, he is the only way this country will go in the right direction.”
Victoria is a weak spot for the government, and Mr Morrison has recently spent significant time there focusing on infrastructure.
Labor is eyeing gains in Melbourne, with the seats of Corangamite, Dunckley, Chisholm, La Trobe and Casey up for grabs. But Labor operatives in other states fear the swing in Victoria will not be reflected elsewhere.
One bright for the Coalition in Victoria is the regional seat of Indi, which it hopes to pick up from retiring independent MP Cathy McGowan.
The seat was in Liberal hands for 35 years until Ms McGowan defeated Sophie Mirabella in 2013 after building up a significant community support base, and it will be difficult for her anointed successor Helen Haines to retain that loyal following.
As ABC election analyst Antony Green noted, “many former Liberal and National voters who gave personal support to Ms McGowan may gravitate back to their traditional political home” now that she is leaving.
Michael Koziol is a political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
An independent Tory is more palatable than Tony Abbott but she’s still a Tory. If the good people of Warringah really want to send a message, elect a Green. Is the Party Party Party Party still contesting elections? Vote their rep in. Now THAT"S sending a message.
The people of warringah have a farking lot to answer for.
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NSW Greens are in a mess. It has a strange Constitution which prevents Head Office from being too closely involved. A Green recently elected to the NSW Upper House has just resigned from the party.
Anyway, according to Abbott’s sister, Steggall is compromised because she drives an SUV. She might not be the only one on that electorate with an SUV.
And weren’t killing their employees.
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I just love it when you “dig” out your little anecdotes as if some corrupt blokes are typical of Union leaders. There are thugs and crooks in all professions and all walks of life, so your story is not even indicative of the BLF of the time.
John Setka gets pilloried by media, but as most know, building and construction sites are now much safer only for the work of Setka and the CFMEU.
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And you had Jack Mundey in Sydney and Norm Gallagher.
Same union, I believe. One saved Sydney’s heritage. The other feathered his own nest.
There are heritage buildings in Melbourne that Norm and the BLF saved from demolition.