Ian McLean notes the major industrial disputes of the late 1970s and the 1980s. He discusses the importance of the SEQEB dispute in unifying the union movement and the Labor Party.
Ian McLean discusses the emergence of the factional system. He discusses the links between the left and unions and the role of the union movement in the modern Labor Party.
Tom Barton discusses the SEQEB dispute, the role of the ETU, and the lengths to which the Trades and Labor Council went to get the strikers their jobs back. He outlines the detrimental effect on the union movement of the 1982 general strike, and attempts to redress this.
Tom Barton recalls his work in the union movement during the Bjelke-Petersen era, including the SEQEB dispute in 1985 and the negotiation of state superannuation funds.
David Hamill discusses the 1986 election and the difficulties associated with this election. He comments on the Labor Party leader at the time, Neville Warburton, and the issue of electoral redistribution.
Anne Warner recalls the SEQEB dispute. She notes the number of people that were involved with the political activity surrounding this issue. She was arrested three times during the SEQEB dispute. This included one incident at Cleveland which she describes as unlawful arrest. This was a bitter process because they lost and the trade union movement lost. She believed it created a watershed that contributed to the restructure in the Labor Party and the election of Wayne Goss.
Anne Warner discusses the issues that she focused on when she was a backbencher in Opposition: social justice, civil liberties, women's issues and the SEQEB (South East Queensland Electricity Board) dispute. She goes on to note the social justice issues related to the Boggo Road Gaol. This included one incident of fire where she witnessed an inmate brutalised, which she then reported to parliament. Anne Warner also notes that at the time she was less involved in the abortion issue.
Ann Scott comments on the Bjelke-Petersen Government and its relationship with the public service. She notes that while the government was unquestionably oppressive, as demonstrated by the increasing use of the police to quell discontent, it allowed the public service a great deal of autonomy and, consequently, it was generally a very comfortable time to work there.
