Business fails the Howard Government

The well-founded fear of retaliation from a Labor government (as evidenced by Deputy Opposition leader Julia Gillard's intemperate comments earlier this year) may not be the only factor that had inhibited business organisations from joining in the fray; membership of several of these organisations may well have a diminished appeal as industrial relations arrangements become less complicated - or at least as the need for the membership of the "IR Club" (through industry associations) wanes.

But one thing is clear. There is no hyperbole in the coalition's mantra that the ALP is now dominated by the union movement, and is under increasing pressure to do its bidding. Unions have steadily increased their representation in caucus as their role in the workplace has slumped. Despite unionists now making up only one-fifth of the Australian workforce, half the 88 federal Labor MPs and Senators are former union officials.

And their number is likely to rise by at least seven later this year, with one of them being the ACTU's secretary, Greg Combet, who has led the union campaign against IR reform. This is in striking contrast to the Whitlam years when only one in four Labor federal politicians had been union officials - and when union membership covered 55 per cent of employees.

The union movement has spent $50 million buying the ALP in the last 10 years and has stuffed the caucus with its officials as it seeks to reclaim what originally was the workers' party - and to reverse the reforms that have so significantly reduced union power and influence while playing a major role in Australia's increased prosperity and huge reduction in unemployment.

The business community's decision to actually do something positive about this threat is better late than never - but maybe only just so.