Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Electric industry workers Australia'
To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Electric industry workers Australia.
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 20 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Electric industry workers Australia.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Gupta, Pavan, University of Western Sydney, College of Law and Business, and School of Management. "Residential sector deregulation in the electricity industry : analysis of electricity consumption patterns." THESIS_CLAB_MAN_Gupta_P.xml, 2004. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/744.
Full textAbstract:
The research presented in this thesis aims to improve our knowledge regarding the impact of privatisation and deregulation of public service type infrastructure industries. In recent years, Australia's industry reform policies have critically relied on rapid deregulation of major utilities such as telecommunication, gas and electricity. Although several industries have been deregulated in the last two decades, our understanding regarding the impact of deregulation on residential electricity market is still developing. In order to accomplish the research, about 400 residential customers were surveyed and their electricity consumption patterns (ECP)were monitored by installing special electronic meters. The findings are discussed in detail. As an implication to policy and practice there is an urgent need for a nation-wide standard,reshaping the practices of the electricity marketing and establishing a time-dynamic ECP monitoring system. Another important implication concerns the well-founded theories in micro-economic literature. This research has established that the price of the commodities and services charged by public service type utility suppliers should not be left entirely to the market forces concerned with demand - supply equilibrium. There is an urgent need to understand the role of different socio-economic segments in contributing to the economic efficiencies of public service type assets. More efficient segments should be equitably rewarded for their contributions rather than penalised perhaps due to the lack of their bargaining power.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
2
Maffitt, Kenneth F. "Alternating currents in Mexican labor : electrical manufacturing workers in Mexico City, 1968-1986 /." Diss., Connect to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC campuses, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p9975040.
Full text
3
Fletcher, Thomas A. "How local autonomy was lost a history of stevedoring at Fremantle, 1880 to 1950." Thesis, Curtin University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1420.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines how the stevedoring industry at Fremantle was absorbed into a national framework of port cargo-handling services during the first half of the twentieth century. The process of change compelled a local industry with its own peculiarities to conform to standards imposed by central authorities with priorities which were not necessarily in harmony with local practice or custom.In part this was the result of the inexorable forces released by Federation. After the creation of the Commonwealth, there was no isolation for anyone from the Commonwealth government's powers to legislate change if it was deemed to be in the national interest. Power, therefore, would flow towards central authorities: for the shipowners and their stevedores this meant to a central organisation, the Association of Employers of Waterside Labour (AEWL); for the labourers it meant, eventually, to the national executive of the Waterside Workers Federation (WWF).The Commonwealth government had the power and the will to intervene in stevedoring when the national interest dictated. The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court started the process in 1914. The Commonwealth government in the War of 1914-18, in 1928, made further inroads into curtailing the levels of local autonomy. In the 1939-45 War the process was completed by the creation of government stevedoring industry commissions and boards. The final impact to local autonomy came in 1950 when the policies of a new conservative Commonwealth government forced the Fremantle Lumpers Union to seek the protection of a national union, the WWF.This thesis follows the path taken by the Fremantle stevedoring industry on its way to complete integration and absorption into the national port cargo-handling service. It examines the resistance to the changes brought about by centralisation and the part played in that struggle by both employers and employees at Fremantle to retain some control over their respective destinies.
4
Korns, Michael T. "Organizational change, restructuring, and downsizing the experience of employees in the electric utility industry /." Open access to IUP's electronic theses and dissertations, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2069/147.
Full text
5
Bester, George Francis. "Minimum physical requirements of the physical workers of an electric supply company by way of work-specific physical assessments." Pretoria : [S.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-04262005-173630.
Full text
6
Fletcher, Thomas A. "How local autonomy was lost a history of stevedoring at Fremantle, 1880 to 1950." Curtin University of Technology, School of Social Sciences and Asian Languages, 1998. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=10615.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines how the stevedoring industry at Fremantle was absorbed into a national framework of port cargo-handling services during the first half of the twentieth century. The process of change compelled a local industry with its own peculiarities to conform to standards imposed by central authorities with priorities which were not necessarily in harmony with local practice or custom.In part this was the result of the inexorable forces released by Federation. After the creation of the Commonwealth, there was no isolation for anyone from the Commonwealth government's powers to legislate change if it was deemed to be in the national interest. Power, therefore, would flow towards central authorities: for the shipowners and their stevedores this meant to a central organisation, the Association of Employers of Waterside Labour (AEWL); for the labourers it meant, eventually, to the national executive of the Waterside Workers Federation (WWF).The Commonwealth government had the power and the will to intervene in stevedoring when the national interest dictated. The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court started the process in 1914. The Commonwealth government in the War of 1914-18, in 1928, made further inroads into curtailing the levels of local autonomy. In the 1939-45 War the process was completed by the creation of government stevedoring industry commissions and boards. The final impact to local autonomy came in 1950 when the policies of a new conservative Commonwealth government forced the Fremantle Lumpers Union to seek the protection of a national union, the WWF.This thesis follows the path taken by the Fremantle stevedoring industry on its way to complete integration and absorption into the national port cargo-handling service. It examines the resistance to the changes brought about by centralisation and the part played in that struggle by both ++employers and employees at Fremantle to retain some control over their respective destinies.
7
Gopaul, Nanda Kissore. "Union rivalry, workers' resistance and wage settlements in the Guyana sugar industry : 1964-1994." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1996. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/56026/.
Full textAbstract:
This PhD thesis is a study of the changing social and industrial conditions under which sugar workers in Guyana have worked, and the responses of workers and unions to these changes since 1964. It makes extensive use of original trade union and employer archives, other public and private documentary evidence and interviews with workers and union and state officials. The narrative and analysis focuses on the experience of union rivalry and the impact of state interventions in wage settlements. The sugar industry has several different unions with differing political and ideological positions, and there have been numerous instances of union rivalry and workers' discontent over union representation. Inadequate wage offers have often led to disputes, involving antagonisms between workers and management but also between workers and their union. In practice the majority of wage settlements have resulted from the intervention of a Commission of Inquiry or Arbitration Tribunal. In the late 1970s the state's imposition of wage levels provoked numerous struggles, often of national proportions, and led to legal challenges by workers and one of their unions which resulted in the restoration of collective bargaining. Such developments have had major implications for the national labour movement. The thesis considers each of these facets of worker and union experience, and thus develops an analysis of the relationships between union rivalry, workers' resistance and wage settlements in the context of highly politicised trade unionism. In particular it discusses the implications of trade union affiliation to the major political parties and shows the extent to which political affiliation helped to destroy the collective bargaining process. It argues that while trade unions are involved in political struggles, they ought not to be affiliated to political parties, since this is likely to compromise the independence of the labour movement and weakens the collective bargaining process.
8
Miller, Veronica Susan. "Validation of a heat stress index and hydration of workers in tropical Australia." Thesis, Curtin University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1962.
Full textAbstract:
In many parts of Australia the climate is such that people are working long hours in the heat. Consequences of excessive environmental heat stress range from reduction in safety due to impairment of concentration, to heat illness, which in extreme cases can be fatal. A critical factor in tolerance of workers to environmental heat stress is their level of hydration. Maximising productivity without compromising the health and safety of the work force requires quantification of the degree of stress posed by the thermal environment. For this purpose a number of heat stress indices have been developed. A recently introduced index is the Thermal Work Limit (TWL), which has been widely adopted and implemented in the underground mining industry in Australia. The field use of TWL and protocols in the mining industry with resultant reduction in heat illness and lost production is a practical endorsement of the index, and its validity under controlled conditions has been confirmed by a preliminary study. The further work needed to complete this validation forms part of this thesis. TWL was found to reliably predict the limiting workload in the controlled environment, reinforcing the validity of the algorithm and its application in the workplace. To date TWL has largely been used in the underground environment, however as the algorithm is equally applicable to the above ground environment where radiant heat forms a significant component of the thermal load, field studies were carried out at mining installations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to evaluate this application of the index. The current industry standard index of heat stress is the Wet bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT).The shortcomings of this index are widely acknowledged and in practice it is frequently ignored as it is seen to be unnecessarily conservative in many situations. The sensitivity of TWL to the cooling effect of air movement implied that TWL would be more relevant than WBGT as a predictor of the impact of environmental heat stress in outdoor work environments and this was supported by the results. On the strength of this, recommended management protocols linked to TWL similar to those already in place in many underground workplaces, were developed for the management of thermal risk in outdoor work environments. Maintaining adequate hydration is the single most important strategy to counteract the effects of thermal stress. No heat stress index can protect workers from the combined effects of dehydration and thermal stress. To document the hydration status of the outdoor workforce in the Pilbara, the hydration level of groups of workers was assessed from the specific gravity of their urine. To further evaluate whether the fluid replacement behaviour of the workers is adequate to replace fluids lost in sweat, a fluid balance study was carried out to quantify average fluid intakes and sweat fluid losses. The majority of workers were found to be inadequately hydrated at the start of the shift and their fluid intakes were in general well below the requirements to replace sweat losses - let alone improve hydration. Recommendations for fluid intakes based on documented rates of sweat loss are included in the thesis. Based on the findings of this study workable management strategies have been recommended to minimise the risk to outdoor workers in thermally stressful environments.
9
Lyu, Sainan. "Improving the safety communication of ethnic minority workers in the construction industry." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2019. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/128445/2/Sainan_Lyu_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This study aims to improve the safety communication of ethnic minority workers (EMWs) in the construction industry. A mixed methods research design was adopted. Semi-structured interviews, Delphi survey and questionnaire surveys were conducted to examine safety and health problems of EMWs, critical safety communication factors, safety communication networks of EM crews, and the effects of safety communication factors and networks on the safety performance of EMWs. The research findings would help industry practitioners to diagnose deficiencies in safety communication management with EMWs, develop effective communication network patterns for EMWs, and improve the safety performance of EMWs.
10
Miller, Veronica Susan. "Validation of a heat stress index and hydration of workers in tropical Australia." Curtin University of Technology, School of Public Health, 2007. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=18028.
Full textAbstract:
In many parts of Australia the climate is such that people are working long hours in the heat. Consequences of excessive environmental heat stress range from reduction in safety due to impairment of concentration, to heat illness, which in extreme cases can be fatal. A critical factor in tolerance of workers to environmental heat stress is their level of hydration. Maximising productivity without compromising the health and safety of the work force requires quantification of the degree of stress posed by the thermal environment. For this purpose a number of heat stress indices have been developed. A recently introduced index is the Thermal Work Limit (TWL), which has been widely adopted and implemented in the underground mining industry in Australia. The field use of TWL and protocols in the mining industry with resultant reduction in heat illness and lost production is a practical endorsement of the index, and its validity under controlled conditions has been confirmed by a preliminary study. The further work needed to complete this validation forms part of this thesis. TWL was found to reliably predict the limiting workload in the controlled environment, reinforcing the validity of the algorithm and its application in the workplace. To date TWL has largely been used in the underground environment, however as the algorithm is equally applicable to the above ground environment where radiant heat forms a significant component of the thermal load, field studies were carried out at mining installations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to evaluate this application of the index. The current industry standard index of heat stress is the Wet bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT).The shortcomings of this index are widely acknowledged and in practice it is frequently ignored as it is seen to be unnecessarily conservative in many situations. The sensitivity of TWL to the cooling effect of air movement implied that TWL would be more relevant than WBGT as a predictor of the impact of environmental heat stress in outdoor work environments and this was supported by the results. On the strength of this, recommended management protocols linked to TWL similar to those already in place in many underground workplaces, were developed for the management of thermal risk in outdoor work environments. Maintaining adequate hydration is the single most important strategy to counteract the effects of thermal stress. No heat stress index can protect workers from the combined effects of dehydration and thermal stress. To document the hydration status of the outdoor workforce in the Pilbara, the hydration level of groups of workers was assessed from the specific gravity of their urine. To further evaluate whether the fluid replacement behaviour of the workers is adequate to replace fluids lost in sweat, a fluid balance study was carried out to quantify average fluid intakes and sweat fluid losses. The majority of workers were found to be inadequately hydrated at the start of the shift and their fluid intakes were in general well below the requirements to replace sweat losses - let alone improve hydration. Recommendations for fluid intakes based on documented rates of sweat loss are included in the thesis. Based on the findings of this study workable management strategies have been recommended to minimise the risk to outdoor workers in thermally stressful environments.
11
Martinovich, Tony. "Factors influencing the incidence rates of injuries and accidents among seafarers and rig workers providing support to the WA offshore oil and gas industry." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1084.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of this study was to identify, discuss and make recommendations regarding causal factors associated with injuries and accidents among seafarers and rig workers providing support to the WA offshore oil and gas industry. These incidents cause significant personal and economic burdens for employees, employers and the community in general.
A sample of 484 participants were recruited from a workforce of 9800 employees (approximately 5%). Participants were stratified into 2 cohorts; those who had suffered injury (286 – study group) and those who had not (198 - controls).
Data from the study group were stratified into oilrig workers and vessel seafarers. A one-way analysis of variance revealed that the injury incidence rate for the seafarers in the study group was significantly higher (mean 14.4 injuries) in the first quarter of each multi week work period ( "swing") (P=0.001), compared to means of 4.125 and 2.44 and 4 for the subsequent quarters. For the oil rig workers, the mean injury incidence rates across the four quarters remained similar.
It was recommended that a safety officer be assigned to each vessel to support workers for the 1st quarter of each swing. Implementation of this practice has been trialled in another study leading to a reduction in the number of incidents over a 12 month period (Brown, 2009). Other factors that influenced injury incidence rates were age and level of experience, with younger and less experienced workers being more injury prone. Encouraging older, experienced workers to mentor younger employees and to manage their workload according to their physical capabilities will be a useful intervention. The implementation of these recommendations will reduce the injury incidence rate of this unique cohort of employees thus reducing the economic burden of injuries and accidents to the employee, the employer and the community in general.
12
Oloyede, Olajide. "Coping under recession : workers in a Nigerian factory /." Stockholm : Almqvist och Wiksell, 1991. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb35513952k.
Full text
13
Enzinger, Sharn Emma 1973. "The economic impact of greenhouse policy upon the Australian electricity industry : an applied general equilibrium analysis." Monash University, Centre of Policy Studies, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8383.
Full text
14
McCamey, Randy B. "The relationship between the reasons for participation in continuing professional education and the leader effectiveness of first-line supervisors." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2003. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5535/.
Full textAbstract:
This research examined the reasons for participation in continuing professional education (CPE) and the predictive relationship of those motivational reasons to the perceived leadership effectiveness of first-line supervisors. For this study, 105 first-line supervisors were surveyed from four electric utility companies. Input was also collected from each supervisor's subordinate employees. Using the five motivational reasons for participation, collected via the Participation Reasons Scale and the effectiveness score collected using the Leader Behavior Analysis II®, regression techniques were used to asses the data. The five participation reasons of the PRS were regressed individually against the effectiveness scores to determine the extent to which leader effectiveness could be predicted by the participation reasons. In each case, the null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Regression of the five PRS reasons collectively on leader effectiveness also failed to reject the null, producing a p value of .800 and an R2 value of .023. An "all possible subsets" regression was conducted to determine whether a smaller subset of the five predictor variables might improve the predictive value of the participation reasons. No subset improved the predictive value. This study concludes that motivation to participate in CPE does not predict leader effectiveness. Thus, training organizations do not need to attempt to determine leader effectiveness based on underlying reasons individuals are motivated to participate, but rather should focus on the more traditional aspects of determining effectiveness most often associated with rigorous training evaluation processes. This study focused on the job role of first-line supervisor. Future research could be performed using: (a) populations of individuals from other traditional job roles including front-line employees (both unionized and non-unionized), mid-level managers, and executives; (b) leaders with and without prior training in situational leadership; and (c) effectiveness measure over time (i.e., a time-series method).
15
Moser, Marie. "A book for my father." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ60064.pdf.
Full text
16
Santos, César Alexandre dos. "Precarização do trabalho e jovem trabalhador eletricitário : o caso da Companhia Paranaense de Energia /." Marília, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/181360.
Full textAbstract:
Orientador: Giovanni Antonio Pinto AlvesBanca: Ricardo Luiz Coltro Antunes
Banca: Ângela Maria Carneiro Araújo
Banca: Marcos Tadeu Del Roio
Banca: Roberto Leme Batista
Resumo: A presente tese teve como objetivo analisar os principais aspectos sociometabólicos que influenciaram na determinação do perfil do jovem trabalhador eletricitário da Companhia Paranaense de Energia. Analisamos como a "nova" morfologia do capitalismo, resultado da recente globalização, reorientou ideologicamente os governos e a sociedade da maioria dos países. Isso levou à constituição de um "novo" metabolismo no ambiente de trabalho, gerando "novas" dimensões e formas de precarização para os trabalhadores. A dinâmica capitalista neoliberal intensificou a manipulação social, impondo culturalmente um comportamento consumista, individualista e competitivo para as novas gerações. Procuramos demonstrar como o incremento tecnológico e o método de gestão toyotista implementado pela empresa a partir do final da década de 1990 alinharam-se com o ideário neoliberal e influenciaram decisivamente na constituição do perfil dos "novos" trabalhadores que se caracterizam principalmente pela competitividade, individualidade, flexibilidade, polivalência, empreendedorismo e proatividade. Além disso, a reestruturação produtiva da empresa impactou negativamente a subjetividade desses novos trabalhadores, precarizando ainda mais suas existencialidades, levando-os a experimentar o estresse, a desesperança, o estranhamento e, por vezes, até o adoecimento físico e/ou psicossocial.
Abstract: The aim of this thesis was to analyze the main socio-metabolic aspects that influenced the determination of the profile of the young electrical worker of Companhia Paranaense de Energia. We analyze how the "new" morphology of capitalism, the result of recent globalization, has ideologically reoriented the governments and society of most countries. This led to the creation of a "new" metabolism in the workplace, generating "new" dimensions and forms of precariousness for workers. Neoliberal capitalist dynamics intensified social manipulation, culturally imposing consumerist behavior, individualistic and competitive for the new generations. We tried to demonstrate how the technological increment and the toyotista management method implemented by the company from the end of the 1990s aligned with the neoliberal ideology and decisively influenced the profile of the "new" workers that are characterized mainly by competitiveness, individuality, flexibility, polyvalence, entrepreneurship and proactivity. In addition, the productive restructuring of the company has negatively impacted the subjectivity of these new workers, making their existentials even more precarious, causing them to experience stress, hopelessness, estrangement, and sometimes even physical and / or psychosocial illness.
Doutor
17
Matsushige, Hisakazu. "The internalisation of the labour market in the Australian vehicle building industry." Phd thesis, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/131906.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis discusses the internalisation of the labour
market in the Australian vehicle building industry in the
light of three important factors: institutions, firmspecific
human capital and internal information about
workers' ability. Despite institutional hindrances, some
of which are specific to the labour market in Australia,
there appears to be a high degree of internalisation in
the Australian vehicle building industry. Since
internalisation is a feature of labour markets operating
in many different institutions and circumstances, the
thesis explores whether and how economic factors, firms-pecific
human capital and internal information about
workers' ability, promote internalisation of labour
markets.
The review of human capital theory and methodologies
used thus far to test the importance of firm-specific
human capital formation as a factor in labour market
internalisation suggests that direct observation and
documentation of skill formation are a necessary
supplement in investigating the existence of firm-specific
human capital in workers' skill and knowledge. The analysis of jobs at each level of the job hierarchy
calls into question the prevalent claim tha-c firmspecific
human capital is a significant cause of the high
degree of labour market internalisation.
The statistical analysis of wage data, on the other hand,
suggests strongly that internal information about
workers' ability is a key factor in the internalisation
of labour markets. The major part of wage movement is
explained by the accumulation of internal information on
workers' ability during employment. This conclusion is
also supported by the analysis of wage and skill data.
Finally, it is suggested that labour markets are more
likely to be internalised in industries which require
large-scale production processes.
18
Huang, Sheng-Shiung, and 黃聖雄. "A Study of the Transmission Knowledge Enhancement and e-Learning Applications for Electric Industry Workers." Thesis, 2010. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/76925212636896970293.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立高雄應用科技大學
電機工程系
98
The extensive use of electricity not only lighted modern mankind’s civilization but also brought us a developed and prosperous world. Owing to the rapidly-growing advancement of power transmission facilities and power line technologies, the quality of power supply could be promoted. Recently, more scholars and experts are devoted to inventing new conductor materials and future power transmission technologies in order to overcome the difficulties of power transmission project, including right of way, the mass protest, and environment protection etc. Therefore, the transmission capacity and efficiency can be promoted. Power transmission is a fully-developed profession, adopting face-to-face learning traditionally. However, with the coming of Information Age and rapid development of software, hardware, and internet devices, digital learning is distinguished from traditional ones. This thesis is aimed at collecting professional themes and knowledge about the design and development of power transmission system, and digitizing them on Moodle web-assisted learning platforms to provide electric engineers with the latest, most plentiful information.
19
Thundiyil, Kevin. "Analysis of resource adequacy constructs in the US and Australia and future paths forward." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3126.
Full textAbstract:
Deregulation of the electricity industry has altered the investment landscape for new resources. Multiple resource adequacy constructs are in use today around the world and represent diverging opinions of how much interaction regulators should have on the procurement of new resources. The report compares the resource adequacy constructs in Australia, Texas, California and the Northeast of the United States and discusses the future of resource adequacy. The report concludes that a hybridized construct that blends the high offer caps of energy-only markets, the prescriptive nature of resources in capacity markets and a strong price-responsive demand will likely be the future of resource adequacy.text
20
Prince, Peter Herman. "Aliens in their own land. 'Alien' and the rule of law in colonial and post-federation Australia." Phd thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/101778.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis argues that the ‘rule of law’ was not followed in
colonial and post-federation Australia in relation to a
fundamental principle of the common law. According to the rule in
Calvin’s Case (1608), no person born as a ‘subject’ in any
part of the King’s dominions could be an ‘alien’. This was
the legal position in Australia from the reception of English law
until well after federation.
In colonial and post-federation Australia the racial meaning of
‘alien’ was consistently used in political and legal contexts
instead of its proper legal meaning. In legislation and
parliamentary debates, cases and prosecutions, inter-colonial
conferences and conventions it was employed to refer not merely
to those who were ‘aliens’ under the common law but also to
people regarded as ‘aliens’ in the broader or racial sense of
the word, especially those of non-European background. Chinese
and Indian settlers, Pacific islanders and even indigenous
Australians were treated as ‘aliens’ in Australia even if
under British law they were actually ‘subjects’ of the Crown
and not ‘aliens’ at all in the accepted legal sense.
In the 1820s and 1830s the New South Wales Supreme Court thought
it inconceivable that ‘barbarous’ indigenous inhabitants
could ‘owe fealty’ or allegiance to the British Crown,
considering their legal position analogous to that of
‘foreigners’ or ‘strangers’. In debates on exclusionary
legislation in the 1870s and 1880s, parliamentarians in the
Australian colonies portrayed all Chinese settlers as
‘aliens’, despite acknowledging that many came from Hong
Kong, the Straits Settlements or other British possessions.
Immigrants from British India were generally treated the same
way. Delegates to Australia’s constitutional conventions in the
1890s, including prominent legal figures, repeated this mistake.
And in the 1900s Pacific islanders born in Australia as British
subjects were deported as ‘aliens’ with the approval of the
Australian High Court. The misuse of ‘alien’ in this case
contributed to a defective judgment still cited today in support
of the Commonwealth’s claims to extensive exclusionary power.
Between federation and the Second World War, Queensland’s
dictation test legislation and industrial awards regulating
various occupations provide many examples of the misuse and
manipulation of the term ‘alien’ in a legal context. In
prosecutions under these laws the word was used as a weapon
against non-Europeans whether they were ‘aliens’ under the
law or not.
Commentators both in the early years of federation and in more
recent times have failed to identify the misuse of ‘alien’–
and have made the same error themselves. This mistake is critical
because of the continued force of the term in Australian law. The
Commonwealth’s sweeping power to define who shall be citizens
of Australia and to exclude, detain indefinitely without trial
and deport ‘aliens’ is still justified by reference to
colonial and post-federation cases and constitutional convention
debates where ‘alien’ was incorrectly used in its racial
sense contrary to the rule of law.