Cases heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) help to set workplace culture in Australia, new Deputy President Terri Butler said yesterday.
The Commission, headed by Justice Hatcher, held a ceremonial sitting in Brisbane to welcome Deputy President Butler who was appointed in August and started in the role on 9 September.
“The individual cases that we do hear matter, of course greatly to the parties, but they’re also a means for setting norms; they’re a means for setting culture in workplaces and the sort of country we want to be,” she said.
“The Commission, the fact of our existence, creates an environment in which there is at least an expectation of a fair go all round and that’s of course incredibly important, and beyond that, setting pay and conditions in workplaces has an effect on the entire Australian economy.
“So it affects you whether you’re working age or not. The Commission through its predecessors is only slighter younger than the Federation. It was a very Australian idea, borne from industrial strife.”
One of Queensland’s most famous examples of industrial unrest was the Great Shearers Strike of 1891 in Barcaldine.
Interestingly as Deputy Commissioner Butler reflected on her appointment, she thought of her great grandfather who was a shearer in Barcaldine in the early 1900s and wondered what he “would have made of the institution that this is today let alone when it was created”.
“I can not image he would have thought a descendant would have been appointed to it, and I can barely believe it myself.”
Deputy President Butler has a long and varied career, serving as an Industrial Commissioner with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, the Federal Member for Griffith (2014–2022) and as a Partner at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. She was also a member of the Queensland Law Society’s Industrial Law Committee (2012-2014).
QLS Deputy President at yesterday’s sitting.
QLS Deputy President Genevieve Dee spoke at the ceremony, acknowledging Deputy President Butler’s strong commitment to public service, and welcoming her on behalf of the solicitors of Queensland.
“I would like to focus on your time as a solicitor in Queensland, commencing first as an articled clerk with Hall Payne and through to becoming a Partner at Maurice Blackburn,” Genevieve said.
“Your colleagues from that time have described you as a strong advocate for the legal rights of employees and one of the leading employee employment lawyers.
“The Society was also very fortunate to have you as a member of our Industrial Law Committee, which is another volunteer position. The work of our policy committees allows the Society to provide expert advice to government and other stakeholders in support of good laws which are evidence-based and for the public good.
“Your previous role as a solicitor and advocate has no doubt instilled in you that a ‘fair go’ is dependent on access to advice and information about your legal rights and the ability to seek assistance to pursue these.
“Your recent experience as a Commissioner in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, when combined with your previous experiences, will enable you to make sound determinations in consideration all of relevant facts and laws. The Commission, and parties who come before it, will greatly benefit from your leadership as Deputy President.”
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