[Muanet] Hockey faces lawsuit after blast at academics over AWAstudy

[Christopher Latham]

Hockey faces lawsuit after blast at academics
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2007/10/02/1191091115247.html

SMH: October 3, 2007

Andrew West, Matthew Moore and Mark Davis

AUTHORS of a report revealing employees on Australian Workplace
Agreements are earning $106 less than other workers are preparing to sue
the Federal Workplace Relations Minister, Joe Hockey, who branded them
"former trade union officials who are parading as academics".

John Buchanan and Brigid Van Wanrooy, of the University of Sydney's
Workplace Research Centre, have briefed lawyers, saying Mr Hockey
defamed them when he implied their research was distorted.

"We are absolutely considering legal action," Dr Buchanan told the
Herald last night. "We have taken advice from a number of legal sources
on the basis that he is accusing us of cooking up data."

Yesterday the Prime Minister, John Howard, the Treasurer, Peter
Costello, and Mr Hockey launched a combined attack on the authors to try
to discredit their findings.

Mr Costello said the study was "contaminated" because Unions NSW paid
half the cost of the study, while the Federal Government's own
Australian Research Council funded the rest.

The most personal attack came from Mr Hockey, who said: "You have to
look at their motives and sure enough you can identify what their real
intentions are."

Last night Mr Hockey admitted the Government's strategy was to be
selective in its use of the research. Asked by the 7.30 Report's Kerry
O'Brien if the Government was "taking out that bits that suit you" and
criticising the potentially embarrassing parts, he replied: "Well, it
could be the case."

Dr Buchanan said that in a 25-year career he had had spent just four
weeks working on secondment to the Community and Public Sector Union in
1990. Dr Van Wanrooy spent eight weeks researching an ACTU-funded study.

She started her career in the Department of Employment and Workplace
Relations, working for Mr Hockey's predecessors Peter Reith and Tony
Abbott.

Dr Van Wanrooy said she would welcome Mr Hockey's critique of the
research methods and was disappointed he had instead attacked the
messenger. "It is appalling that he is attacking us, not studying the
research."

The Government's campaign against the academics came as the Bureau of
Statistics undermined Mr Howard's claims that ABS research showed
employees on AWAs earned more than other workers.

Valerie Pearson, the bureau's assistant director for labour employer
surveys, said the ABS had not done any research into the effects of AWAs
since the introduction of Work Choices in March last year. The only
AWA-related research it had conducted was in May last year "on a
pre-Work Choices basis". It would not study the effects of Work Choices
"until May next year".

But the Government yesterday continued to cite bureau data to try to
discredit the Australia at Work report, published in the Herald, which
surveyed more than 8000 workers. "The ABS tell us that people are better
off under AWAs," Mr Howard told reporters.

Mr Hockey also attacked the ARC funding for the Workplace Research
Centre. "I'm not sure that this institution is known for academic rigour
but even occasionally the Government gets it wrong on where it spends
its money," he said.

But the ARC said Dr Buchanan's and Dr Van Wanrooy's research proposal
had survived tough vetting and was approved by Mr Hockey's cabinet
colleague, the Minister for Education, Julie Bishop. "This was signed
off by Julie Bishop," said its spokeswoman, Fiona Skivington. "It is
very hard to get money from the ARC. It's a very rigorous process."

Under ARC guidelines, the study required both the approval of the
University of Sydney and a review by a 77-member college of experts
before the ARC's chief executive recommended its approval to the
minister.

The Melbourne Institute's Mark Wooden, an academic whose research has
generally supported labour market deregulation, said government
departments often used funding to influence the findings of researchers.

He said he had also conducted research funded by unions, employer groups
and government departments, as well as ARC projects. "Working for the
government, they don't always let you say what you want to say," he
said. "They edit and direct your reports all the time and if you don't
toe the line you don't get paid."