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Labour Law and Climate Change

Frances Flanagan and Joo-Cheong Tham

Group of protesters holding cardboard signs reading “No Jobs on a Dead Planet” and “Protect Our Planet,” with colorful lettering and a sun drawing
Figure 1: “No jobs on a dead planet” Global climate strike, Melbourne, Australia, 15 March 2019. Source: Photo by John Englart from Flickr used under CC BY-SA 2.0.

This chapter examines the role of Australian labour law in the climate crisis. It explains how Australian labour law is presently indifferent towards climate action and at times, restrictively so. It goes on to identify pathways towards a climate conscious Australian labour law, one which can be a vehicle for effective climate action.

KEY QUESTIONS
  • How has Australian labour law contributed to climate action?
  • How should Australian labour law contribute to climate action?

Keywords: labour law, democracy, collective bargaining, capitalism, just transition, work health and safety, adaptation, planning, degrowth

License

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Becoming a Climate Conscious Lawyer Copyright © 2024 by La Trobe University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.