The Australian Union Movement and the Politics of Full Employment, 1945–1976

This article argues that the Australian union movement played a crucial and often overlooked role in both the success and rapid decline of Australia's post‐war full employment framework. A particular focus is placed on the unions' response to the Fraser Liberal‐Country Party government's 1976 abandonment of post‐war full employment and the introduction of its subsequent ‘Fight Inflation First’ economic policy agenda. Two key historical episodes—the ACTU's June 1976 tax cut/wage restraint proposal and the period leading up to the ACTU's July 1976 national stoppage over Medibank—are examined in this context.