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Just three days ago (Monday, 24 August), Victorian Premier Dan Andrews virtually declared ‘war’ against the people of Victoria. His attempt to push through a twelve-month extension to the state of emergency was that declaration of war.

The Premier’s push would remove democratic, parliamentary oversight of the government’s extreme control of Victorians’ lives for twelve months. Essentially, this would create a form of dictatorship in Victoria.  More...

Is politics in democracies now bonkers? Does no-one respect experts and authority anymore? Has politeness disappeared from political discussion? Is intimidation destroying free speech? More...

According to demographer Bernard Salt, there’s a big cultural shift in Australia towards being your own boss. And it’s a lifestyle thing. In The Australian Bernard referred to: More...

The supposed ‘rise’ of the ‘gig’ economy is causing much debate on whether its impacts are good or evil for society. There’s much confusion.

The author of a new book, Gigged: The End of the Job and the Future of Work, was interviewed on the USA Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) this week where the social issues were discussed. The four-minute interview can be seen here.  More...

We at ICA had thought that after the huge campaign against the ‘evil’ road ‘safety’ laws we could move on to other issues. But no! Labor leader Bill Shorten announced today his intention to bring back the repealed laws if he wins government at the next election.

As a consequence of this ‘idiocy’ on their part, we can only describe Shorten’s Labor and their Transport Workers Union partners as ‘dangerous idiots intent on destroying small business people’. More...

We at ICA have been greatly encouraged by the support that's been pouring in to help us with our High Court campaign to stop the evil owner-driver destruction laws. We’re working all weekend with our lawyers preparing the High Court application for lodgement this coming Monday (11 April).

But to bring home the impact of this terrible Tribunal, we need stories from Owner Drivers about how it has affected them. And we need them urgently. The High Court judges need to understand the impact of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal on your business, your family and your life. They need to understand the crisis the RSRT has created for you. And that impact will be best conveyed by stories from Owner Drivers in their own words. More...

From time to time, we’ve highlighted the debate occurring in the UK over the rise of the self-employed. Some commentators see this as a bad thing.

In mid-June, the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) released a report on the future of Australia’s workforce. The full report is here. ICA's Executive Director, Ken Phillips, was asked to contribute a chapter on independent contracting. He cited global trends, presenting facts and some opinions. His CEDA chapter is here. More...

Since 2012 ICA has been tracking the extraordinary debate happening in the UK about the ‘evils’ of self-employment. The debate was first ignited by the UK Trades Union movement. UK self-employment has doubled since 1975 to be now 15 per cent of the workforce (4.5 million people). Incredibly, UK unions say this is socially destructive.

Earlier this year a union-orientated think-tank, the Resolution Foundation, made similar claims.   More...

Ken Phillips has recently been in Washington for discussions with several organizations about independent contractor rights and labour law in general. He was surprised to discover the extent to which the basic right to join or not join a union is denied in the ‘land of the free’. According to Ken, 'it's  amazingly oppressive Federal law'. More...