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Throughout the 1800s in Australia, the average worker was not well protected from hazards at work.
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in 1901 a loaf of bread cost between two and three pence (approximately two cents) and eggs were one shilling and three pence (around twelve cents) for a dozen. A man's business shirt cost around eight shillings and six pence (85 cents) and the average weekly rent for a three bedroom house was 13 shillings ($1.30).
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The Conciliation and Arbitration Court was established by the federal government in 1904 to resolve disagreements between employers and employees
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By 1904, HV McKay had become the Commonwealth's largest manufacturing exporter
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In 1907, it changed the future of wages for Australian workers when it was faced with the case of Ex parte HV McKay (1907) 2 CAR 1. It has famously become known as, the 'Harvester judgement.'
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In 1907, HV McKay applied to the Conciliation and Arbitration Court for an exemption from the Excise Tariff (Agricultural Machinery) Act 1906 (Cth). The Act involved an excise on locally made machinery being waived if employers were found to be paying 'fair and reasonable' wages.
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by 1910 a wages board or an arbitration court had been established in every State of Australia.
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There were also complaints that for the basic wage to truly represent what was needed by the average worker to support himself and his family, it needed to fluctuate with the cost of living. It did not change until 1914, leaving many workers disgruntled