Media release
Australian Law Reform Commission
Monday, 7 August 2006
Work to live or live to work? ALRC journal reviews 'life, law and leisure'
Emerging social, technological and industrial changes require an urgent rethinking of the laws and institutions needed for Australians to achieve a healthy ‘work/life’ balance and to feel fulfilled, while remaining productive and internationally competitive.
Releasing Reform Issue 88 ‘Life, Law and Leisure’ today, ALRC President Prof David Weisbrot said the focus on rapidly developing science and technology in the 1960s led most commentators to speculate that the biggest problem in western countries in the early 21st century would be how to manage an over-abundance of leisure time.
“Exactly as projected 40 years ago, the average middle class home in any developed country contains a large range of electronic, and supposedly labour-saving, equipment. Yet all of the evidence suggests that most people feel like they are working longer and harder than ever, with less time for family, friends and pure recreation.
“With that, we see more uncertainty and anxiety about the security and rewards of employment; increasing levels of stress and mental illness; and high levels of family breakdown,” he said.
Prof Weisbrot said law reformers have the opportunity, not presented so obviously to many others, to think about and work towards the improvement of society—and the elusiveness of leisure time has become an issue worthy of consideration.
Articles in this edition of Reform consider:
- the definition of the ‘good life’ and Australians attitudes to work and leisure—including the concept of the 4-6 hour working day (Dr Caroline West, University of Sydney);
- moves to more flexible workplaces (Lee-May Saw, Women Lawyers’ Association of NSW);
- ‘affluenza’ and attitudes to wealth (Clive Hamilton, The Australia Institute);
- children in the workforce (Elizabeth Fraser, Qld Commissioner for Children and Young People);
- billable hours and its impact on lawyers’ lives (Elizabeth Broderick, Blake Dawson Waldron);
- Generation Y attitudes to work (Rebecca Huntley, writer and social researcher); and
- the personal experience of a Sydney-to-Orange ‘tree-changer’ (Rosemary Adams, MBA).
Other articles consider the interaction between law and leisure, such as travel and tourism law (Trevor Atherton, Bond University); law and sport (Deborah Healey, UNSW); and the legal regulation of leisure activities in public spaces (Prof Chris Cunneen, UNSW).
Reform also carries articles on the work of the ALRC and of other international and national law reform agencies. The journal Reform is published twice a year, in winter and summer. Views expressed in the journal are those of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the ALRC. Subscription information and articles from selected back issues are available online.
This page was posted 7 August 2006.