by Elizabeth Humphrys | May 17, 2019 | Accord, Australian Economy, Australian History, Neoliberalism
When I was in grade five there was a vote in class. We were asked, who do you want to win the election, Hawke or Fraser? Only one child in that working class school in Hoppers Crossing voted for the Liberals, such was the hope and desire of working class families for...
by Elizabeth Humphrys | Feb 8, 2019 | Australian Economy, Australian History, unions
Sarah Gregson and I have published a new website, to report on our research into the West Gate Bridge collapse in 1970 and its aftermath. We will add more of our work over time, and have created a resources page collecting together a range of materials on about the...
by Elizabeth Humphrys | Sep 11, 2018 | Australian Economy, Australian History, unions
Last week Sarah Gregson presented a paper on our behalf, based on our research into the collapse of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne in 1970. The disaster killed 35 workers, and injured many more. Its legacy continues to this day, including the annual memorial...
by Elizabeth Humphrys | Mar 25, 2018 | Accord, Australian Economy, Australian History, Neoliberalism
2016 marked the 25th anniversary of Michael Pusey’s seminal text of economic sociology, Economic Rationalism in Canberra. As a detailed analysis of top bureaucrats in Canberra who had adopted free market ideas and the transformation of public policymaking, Pusey’s...
by Elizabeth Humphrys | Mar 5, 2018 | Accord, Australian Economy, Australian History, unions
This week my colleague Sarah Gregson (UNSW) and I are on the GLAMcity podcast talking about the history of work, labour under the Accord, and the memorialisation of those killed in the West Gate Bridge collapse & the Titanic disaster. You can listen to the...
by Elizabeth Humphrys | Jun 7, 2017 | Accord, Australian Economy, Australian History, Neoliberalism
Last week I was interviewed on the wonderful ‘Living the Dream’ podcast. We discussed the Accord, neoliberalism and the ALP Hawke-Keating government. Our focus was on recent articles by Van Badham and Wayne Swan in The Guardian, and how the ALP and unions...
