Industry Group head presents 25th Kirby Lecture

Oct 15, 2004

The NSW Director of the Australian Industry Group, Mr Mark Goodsell, presented the 25th Sir Richard Kirby Public Lecture this week (Wednesday 13 October).

The University of Wollongong’s Faculty of Commerce and the School of Management and Marketing hosted the talk. Mr Goodsell has been director of the Ai Group since 1999.

The Ai Group is a national employer and industry association formed on 1 July 1998 following the merger of MTIA (Metal Trades Industry Association) and the Australian Chamber of Manufactures.

Mr Goodsell has been with the MTIA and Ai Group for 19 years, primarily as an industrial advocate and adviser to the manufacturing, heavy engineering and construction sectors. His construction experience included the industrial relations management for a number of landmark NSW construction projects including the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, West Tuna and Bream B Platform Project for Esso-BHP and No6 Blastfurnace, BHP Port Kembla.

He is now responsible for the operations of the NSW branch of Ai Group, including the delivery of member services and pursuing State business and industry policy issues, including employment regulation, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and workers’ compensation, state and regional development, skills formation and vocational education.

Mr Goodsell is a member of the NSW OHS and Workers’ Compensation Council, the NSW Expert Advisory Group on Drugs and Alcohol and is chair of the NSW Metal Engineering and Related Services Industry Training Advisory Board. He holds Bachelor degrees in Law and Economics.

The title of his lecture was “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” – Australian workplace relations in the 21st century.

His talk addressed the fact that, while it is often viewed as a stand-alone concept, the shape of a nation’s workplace relations system is ultimately determined by the greater economic and social forces at work around it. Globalisation, consumerism, technology and demographics have little sympathy for slow moving traffic, or institutions.

His presentation focussed on the forces at work shaping our workplace relations system and questioned if we can maintain a uniquely Australian response.