We’re really worried about one aspect of a Shorten Labor government.
Bill Shorten plans to bring back trucking laws that will destroy the businesses of around 50,000 independent truck drivers across Australia. If they can attack the legitimate small businesses of one group of self-employed people, we have to ask, where will Labor stop?
Our use of the words ‘destroy businesses’ is not extreme. Under the now-repealed Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT), independent truck drivers’ businesses were wiped out. Several confirmed suicides occurred. More...
All News
Labor to reintroduce independent truckies destruction law. We oppose
Serious government dysfunction causing great harm
Looking at politics at the moment one might wonder at how anything functions! And this political dysfunction flows through into government department dysfunction.
Suing the government!
Our truckie friends will be interested in the $600 million class action being organized by farmers over the live cattle export ban in 2011. The Australian’s update is here. More...
We’ve changed our name! But we’re still the same—only getting stronger
Well here’s a turn-up for us! In 2000 (goodness, 18 years ago!) we formed Independent Contractors Australia to advocate for the rights of self-employed people. And in that time we’ve been more successful than we could have envisaged. More...
The Australian Constitution protecting our freedoms
ICA Executive Director Ken Phillips spoke at a ‘Liberty’ conference in Sydney over the weekend. With over 350 people in attendance and with more than 70 speakers it was a stimulating, ideas-packed weekend. Not everyone agreed with each other, but all present agreed on the right to speak freely.
Ken talked about how we at ICA have used the Australian Constitution to defend individual liberty, specifically the right of people to be self-employed. You might recall last year our: More...
Are owner-drivers at risk again? And what about Uber employees?
Owner-drivers
You’ll recall the mess last year in the attempts to destroy the businesses of owner-drivers in Australia.
However, the Victorian government is now reviewing its owner-driver laws, laws that we say are pretty good as they stand. We don’t think the review is looking to set up price-fixing as happened under the disbanded federal law. But Federal Labor voted to keep the disbanded laws. Who knows what the Victorian Labor government’s agenda might be? We urge owner-drivers to keep a close eye on this. More...
Notable highlights from 2016
A very big Season’s Greetings to all ICA members, supporters, friends and contributors—of which there are many! 2016 has been an impressive year in terms of achieving positive outcomes for self-employed people. More...
Union/Big business flim-flammery (again)
Yesterday, The Australian carried an article reporting that the AMWU wants to ‘represent’ independent contractors. The article quoted Ken Phillips (our Executive Director) who said: More...
Small Business Ombudsman's Report slams Road 'Safety' Remuneration Tribunal
The Transport Workers Union and their ‘safe rates’ cronies are not happy. The Federal Small Business Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, has released the findings of her investigations into the Road ‘Safety’ Remuneration Tribunal (now dead thankfully) and its discriminatory attempts to put owner-drivers out of business.
We covered the issue and campaigned extensively against the RSRT. And you will remember we launched a High Court action to stop the RSRT. More...
Sometimes politics in a democracy is messy. So what to do?
The Australian election outcome is in line with the messiness that’s happening with democratic politics across the globe. It’s good that ‘the people rule'! But what of decision-making?
Sometimes positive things can happen through the political process. We were very pleased with: More...
Pre-election thanks to Senators Day and Leyonhjelm
Last week we released a statement on the election saying that
More...
Recent Posts
- Be afraid: Victoria’s 4th attempt at quarantine
- ATO Mongrel Bunch of Bastards Continues—Morrison Needs to Act
- ‘Homework’ takes on a totally new meaning … for adults!
- Victorian Government and Premier: Indictable criminal offences investigation
- BIG change must happen to ATO says government report
- Australian unions see flying ‘gig’ pigs landing from the UK
- Would you consider the Victorian Premier the most dangerous person in Australia?
- Victorian Covid lockdown (again). The evidence. Victorian Government failures. Prosecution
- ATO abusing its powers – manipulating the law to abuse people
- Holding public officials to account takes time and persistence – Covid and more
![]() Be Protected! |
Tags
- 457 visas (2)
- AB5 California (5)
- Abbott government (40)
- ABCC (2)
- ABNs (26)
- ACCC (23)
- ACTU (1)
- advertising (2)
- aged care (1)
- ALP policy (36)
- Andrews government (26)
- Asian economies (5)
- ASIC (14)
- ATO (140)
- Australian Constitution (1)
- Australian politics (277)
- Australian Senate (44)
- autocratic government (9)
- Banking sector (10)
- big business (62)
- branding (2)
- Budget 2015 (2)
- Budget 2020 (1)
- bureaucratic capture (3)
- business names (25)
- business-union ties (31)
- California (5)
- Canada (2)
- Car industry (2)
- Carbon tax (1)
- CFMEU (8)
- China (9)
- Chinese economy (2)
- Coalition policy (66)
- Coate Inquiry (13)
- Collusion (16)
- communication (3)
- competition policy (15)
- computer/IT sector (8)
- Conference (7)
- construction (28)
- construction codes (11)
- contractor status (153)
- Coronavirus (41)
- Coronavirus: Govt Support (15)
- Coronavirus–OHS (17)
- corporate welfare (7)
- corruption (17)
- couriers (7)
- defending our rights (269)
- DINs (1)
- disability services (1)
- disclosure requirements (7)
- dispute resolution (22)
- disruption (12)
- drug abuse (1)
- effects test (4)
- Election 2013 (14)
- Election 2016 (3)
- Election 2019 (18)
- entrepreneurship (133)
- Europe (15)
- fair contracts (81)
- Fair Work Commission (2)
- Fair Work Ombudsman (2)
- Family trusts (1)
- Federal SBC (4)
- finance (9)
- financial advisers (3)
- fixing disputes (2)
- foreign workers (2)
- franchising (21)
- freelancing (54)
- GEEIndex (1)
- Gig economy (26)
- Global economies (22)
- global news (61)
- government power (7)
- govt-business ties (15)
- govt-union ties (10)
- GST (2)
- Heydon Report (4)
- HMRC (5)
- hotel quarantine (6)
- ICAC (1)
- illegal logging laws (2)
- independence (23)
- industrial relations (35)
- infrastructure (1)
- innovation (23)
- 'insecure' work (3)
- insolvency laws (1)
- Inspector-General Taxation (36)
- Internet (1)
- Ireland (3)
- IRS (8)
- IT contractors (3)
- Japan (1)
- job creation (14)
- Job security (19)
- JobKeeper (8)
- JobMaker (1)
- JobSeeker (5)
- Just for fun (7)
- Kenya (1)
- Labour hire (4)
- liberty (4)
- Lockdown exit (18)
- management capacity (5)
- Massachusettsd (5)
- mental health (3)
- misclassification laws (11)
- Morrison Government (34)
- national debt (2)
- New South Wales (1)
- Obamacare (1)
- OHS harmonisation (2)
- owner-drivers (16)
- Pay on Time Pledge (3)
- productivity (11)
- Productivity Commission (2)
- profiles (9)
- Prompt payment (13)
- public service (2)
- racism (2)
- red tape (26)
- research (22)
- Resources (1)
- responsibility (17)
- Reverse factoring (5)
- Richard Boyle (3)
- scams (4)
- self-employment (283)
- shopping centres (9)
- Shorten Opposition (18)
- small business (310)
- small business commisioners (29)
- Small Business Ombudsman (5)
- small business tax tribunal (18)
- South Australia (2)
- stupid legislation (6)
- superannuation (11)
- Tax evasion (8)
- taxation (134)
- taxpayer privacy (2)
- technology (6)
- the nature of work (1)
- The rule of law (25)
- tradesmen (3)
- transparency (18)
- truckies (14)
- Turnbull Government (28)
- TWU (6)
- Uber (14)
- unemployment (5)
- union power (49)
- union violence (4)
- United Kingdom (28)
- United States (29)
- US 2020 Election (1)
- US politics (9)
- Victoria (36)
- Victorian council elections (2)
- Victorian election (4)
- Victorian 'roadmap' (12)
- WA Election 2017 (2)
- Western Australia (6)
- white australia (1)
- work flexibility (17)
- work pressure (2)
- work safety (10)
- worker's compensation (2)
- work-life balance (18)
- workplace interaction (4)
- workplace manslaughter legislation (10)
- WorkSafe prosecution (11)
- WorkSafe Victoria (11)
Archive
- April 2021 (2)
- March 2021 (3)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (2)
- December 2020 (6)
- November 2020 (1)
- October 2020 (6)
- September 2020 (7)
- August 2020 (5)
- July 2020 (5)
- June 2020 (1)
- May 2020 (5)
- April 2020 (3)
- March 2020 (5)
- February 2020 (2)
- December 2019 (2)
- November 2019 (2)
- October 2019 (2)
- September 2019 (1)
- August 2019 (5)
- July 2019 (3)
- June 2019 (3)
- May 2019 (4)
- April 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (7)
- February 2019 (4)
- January 2019 (4)
- December 2018 (3)
- November 2018 (6)
- October 2018 (4)
- September 2018 (3)
- August 2018 (5)
- July 2018 (4)
- June 2018 (3)
- May 2018 (3)
Small Cost, Big Benefits