Sunday, 9 June 2013

Short Stories Reflection - HSC English Extension

Between the Lines
The premise begins with another early morning in the life of a white collar worker, Allan. Set in the 1950s, Allan waits before the crack of dawn to catch the bus to work. The following notions prevalent in the Cold War era are addressed throughout the story:
·         Waiting/Loneliness – resulting from the events of the bombing of Hiroshima, western society in particular became increasingly unsettled with the possible reciprocate reaction of such an event. With growing concerns for the USSR developing their own nuclear weapons, society felt anxious at such ominous thoughts, with the notion of waiting for such an event to happen again being a terrifying possibility. Loneliness also became apparent through societies increased apprehension and subsequent isolation, at such aforementioned ideas. Examples of these idea inherent in this story include:
-          “waiting” at the bus shelter. Lonely and cold environment adds emphasis.
·         Media’s role – the media also had a significant impact on how the general populace felt about such events that occurred during the Cold War. For example, newspapers written in western society would have uplifted intentions made by US and diminished the ideals of the USSR. Examples of this in ‘Between the Lines’ include:
-          “portentous events” happening in the far east. Media implies a threatening situation.
·         Political tensions – whilst not all of society would have been self-aware of the specifics of how the USA and the USSR were increasingly hostile with each other, some members of society would have been holders of such knowledge. As the communist regime began to spread throughout the world, fear would have precipitated as capitalist precepts began being challenged. Thus politics during this time were of significant importance and had a significant impact on the people involved. Examples of this notion is represented in the story through:
-          “’falling domino’ principle” describes the situation in which communism is most certainly growing. 
-          “consequences of the loss are just incalculable to the free world” presents a tone of fear.
·         Upheaval of ideologies – as different paradigms and ideologies surfaced through the challenging of old archetypes, the importance and questioning of such new and old paradigms came about. Society would not have had a full understanding of these ideas, yet would have been able to make comparisons about how society has changed and what new concepts have been introduced. Allan contemplates this notion through the story, examples include:
-          “Surely a totalitarian rule will not pervade the entire South-East Asia” which presents an idea that capitalist rulings may crumble under the ever growing spread of communism.
-          “what if humanity destroys itself first?” presents an idea that Christian prophecy may be invalid if science is capable of ending the world before the return of Christ.
·         Human fragility – as technology regarding ‘weapons of mass destruction’ has advanced so rapidly, the idea that we have almost perfected killing ourselves and each other has introduced the idea that it would not be difficult to destroy the human race. This notion is explored in the story through:
-          “the bus driver … to a better place” evokes the idea that death can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
·         Hope­ – the idea that the future is brighter remained ever-present on the minds of optimists during the Cold War era, with Allan being akin to this kind of nature. Hope is presented in the novel through:
-          “fleeting moment of peace” where hope comes about only momentarily
-          “waiting … for a bus to [take him] away” presents the idea that soon he will be free of his predicament 
Hope in Hiroshima?
The setting of the story takes place immediately after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Here, Lorna finds herself battered but alive, and attempts to find answers and hope after first-hand experiencing the horrific devastation brought about by the bomb. The following notions prevalent in the Cold War era are addressed throughout the story:
·         Hopelessness – resultant of how futile human life has become and how quickly it can be destroyed, a sense of hopelessness emanated during the Cold War era as people began to doubt whether their lives would return to normal, as well as how powerless they were to regain such control. This idea is brought about during the actual experiences of Lorna after the destruction of the bomb on Hiroshima, with examples including:
-          “homes destroyed” and “remnants of a burning city” create an evocative picture of the absolute devastation that has happened all around her
-          “shikata ga nai”, a common Japanese phrase which translates to “it cannot be helped”. This idea of nothing to be done further extends on the already severe hopelessness of her situation
-          “Lorna’s tears flowed again” as she came about the realisation that there was just so much pain and suffering around her, she could do nothing with the little strength she had herself.
·         Suffering of mankind - society became increasingly inhumane during the Cold War era as events such as the holocaust and the atomic bombs on Japan had created a new sense of how evil and destructive was mankind? The story conveys such thoughts through Lorna’s personal experiences, including:
-          “Tasukete! Tasukete!”, the Japanese word for help was used to produce an image of suffering and hopelessness
-          “her arms were raw, red and mangled” paints an haunting image of how dreadfully some of the victims had suffered or were still suffering
·         Hope - throughout Cold War society, the prevalence of the suffering of mankind generated a need for hope and a need for something to possible save them. Hope is comingled during ‘Hope in Hiroshima?” through Lorna’s struggle to survive, with examples including:
-          “spiritual home” is the place that Lorna tries to get too, the “beacon of hope” that may offer her some “consolation” in these dark times.
-          “turned her back on the altar” after she finds no deliverance or immediate answers in such a place. Absent hope after she had been optimistic for so long.
-          “Red Cross Hospital”, the place that would offer her healing for her wounds and the possibility of answers, after the church had failed her.
·         Questioning of religion - as new ideas sprouted forth to compensate for the lack of religions validity, including science and the importance of intelligence, religion lost some of its strength as a source of absolute truth. This has been explored by Lorna in her thoughts, throughout the story:
-          “Where are you?” in our time of need Lorna asks, seeking a response of any kind as she searches for something to place her faith into. The questioning of whether God exists in all of this, does God have any power to stop this or save people from such an event.
-          “turned her back on the altar” completes her transformation from someone with faith, into someone absent it. She then places her allegiance with the hospital, a place where science could offer her answers.
Traffic Lights
A dissimilar family attempts to make its way through the city, in hope of reaching St Matthews church, for a promising message about hope and dealing with life. The traffic jam ahead is long and unwavering, precipitating an atmosphere of waiting and subsequent conservations to distract against such foreboding feelings.
·         Waiting – as mentioned in the reflection for ‘Between the Lines’, society became increasingly apprehensive after devastating events, including the bombing of Hiroshima. Western society in particular became increasingly unsettled with the possible counter reaction of such an event. Growing concerns over the USSR developing their own nuclear weapons brought about this notion of waiting for such an event to happen, which has been effectively explored in ‘Traffic Lights’ through:
-          “pensively tapping at the steering wheel” shows how people expressed their frustration at having to wait
-          “the collective travellers … waiting” illustrates how society is in the same view of waiting to go, to move
-          “Are we there yet?”, an example of Max’s subsequent feelings causes him to whine and become irritated
-          “surely soon enough”, shows that society has no definite hold on whether what time something may happen
·         Futility of life – the value of human life also lessened with events like the nuclear bombing of Japan causing so much death and destruction. Society has since adopted this view of human life losing its significance, along with how easy death can come to us all, in the blink of an eye. This is explore through:
-          “nothing to be done”, illustrates how society has no control over the situation they are in
-          “casualties expected to exceed 260” shows how easily death can happen to anyone. The reference to the Korean Air Lines disaster in 1983, validates the above statement of how quickly and tragically life can be cut short.
·         Death imagery – Violet’s comments are few and brief, yet challenge her father’s comments in a distinctive way, relating to atrocities of mankind. These constant reminders made by Violet highlight how the world can never forget what has happened in the past. The quotes include:
-          “toot toot train to Treblinka” and “Himmler’s hands” both relate to the significance of the Holocaust as a devastating event
-          “flowers … in Hiroshima” relates to the spontaneous rejuvenation of plants after the nuclear bomb, as a disastrous event in mankind’s record
-          “no turning back” relates to how society cannot go back to being innocent, the scars against mankind will never heal
·         Economic paradigms – capitalist and communist doctrines differed quite significantly and had different views on how money should be spent per capita. Capitalist paradigms were added to ‘Traffic Lights’ through:
-          “inner city avenues that were home to the richest, greediest and wealthiest of people” elucidates the notion that capitalist society allows for the accumulation of money and greed, contrary to communist thinking.
·         Christian allegory/Hope – as religion lost its prevalence in society as science offered new ideas, people too began to question the significance of how valid Christianity was. Yet the church still remains as a symbol of hope for repentance of sins. References to the bible include:
-          “lost sheep”, refers to the parable of the lost sheep and the significance of one’s redemption. Also links to society’s new doubt in faith, describing them as “lost".
-          “good to see the old place” relates to how mankind has turned away from God, yet it is still possible to turn back to God
Characters
Max – a talkative, young boy whose curiosity for knowledge exceeds his depth of understanding. He is the life of the family and connects them all together. Has little knowledge of the conceptual state that the world is in.
Adam – A friendly, pre-teen boy whose peaceful and comforting attitude stems from his desire for everything to be right in the world. Has little knowledge of the current state of society, which is hidden from him by his parents.
Violet – a solitary, depressed teen girl who has just realised the detrimental worldwide effect of the cold war, and the aftermath of the war in general, and how it will have an effect on her life. Relevance of name correlates the dark colour with her bleak attitude to life.
Dad – The man of the household, who decides to take the family on a road trip to an church, hopes for enlightenment as to how he should continue his life in a contented way. Acts as leader and head of the family.

Mummy – stressed in her day to day life at home. Content to escape the house yet still depressed at state of the world. Quiet in the car, but sighs at Violets remarks, implying her hidden distress at the terrible events that have happened around the world.

'Between the Lines' Short Story - HSC English Extension

Turning his head to face the left, Allan looked searchingly into the gloomy fog, forty yards yonder. A puff of warm breath left his mouth as he returned to his neutral gaze ahead of him, blankly taking in the adjacent surroundings of the noiseless street life around him. Before dawn on an especially chilly winter’s morning, Allan situated himself on the inside of a frost covered bus shelter, waiting for the 094 bus transit, from Downtown to Burbank. Only the leaves dancing from a breath of wind along the path in front of him, accompanied the sharply dressed man as he peered into the nothingness, silently waiting. Removing his wavering hand from his trench coat pocket, Allan drew out the Los Angeles Times to entertain his mind and associate himself into a world of ever evolving troubles, rising anxiety and political vagueness. Just the solemn news he needed to start his day.
Date - April 8, 1954. ‘The Far East Game’ blared the front page news headline. “Inside - President Eisenhower sheds light on the ‘the domino theory’ that explains the portentous events occurring in the Asian region,” read the subtitle underneath. “Hmm, something new from the grand old party,” Allan murmured as he skimmed through the text. Flicking through the pages he looked up briefly again to see anything of note, but not a scrap of movement. Lifting his knee onto his other, Allan stretched out the article directly in front of him, immersing himself in another peripheral world of tension.
Robert Richards - “Mr President, would you mind commenting on the strategic importance of Indochina to the free world?” President Eisenhower – “Alongside other importances such as the broad range of primary sources located in Vietnam and the ever-increasing number of people under Communist rule which could prove inimical, broader considerations that have arisen include what you can call the ‘falling domino’ principle. You have a row of dominos set up, you knock one over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences. With a possible sequence of events including the loss of Indochina, Burma, Thailand and Indonesia, causes great concern. The geographical position achieved thereby does many things, with a southward turn to threaten Australia and New Zealand. The possible consequences of the loss are just incalculable to the free world.”
Slapping the newspaper shut with a hint of muffled distaste, Allan smacked the paper down with temperance onto the seat beside him. “No, that’s not true, it can’t be,” he whispered to himself, contemplating with the challenging idea in his head. Turning his head and twitching his body involuntarily, Allan struggled to contain his physical movements as the new unsettling ideas now present in his head tormented his mind. Desperate to regain control of himself, he subdued his writhing by leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and placing his hands over his mouth. In-taking his breaths at a slow and controlled state, he slowly regained control of himself while stroking his fingers through his hair, under his wide-brimmed beige top hat. Recollecting his previous thoughts in an organised manner, he persevered to make a valid assumption of what he’d previously read. “Surely a totalitarian rule will not pervade the entire South-East Asia and Pacific region. What is being done to combat such a notion? The French forces are futile, while the communist powers grow ever stronger,” Allan thought intently. “Oh well, nothing to be done by me anyway,” he concluded. Looking from left to right again he noted that the fog had begun to recede, with glimmers of vehicle lights now observable in the distance. Allan then felt a fleeting moment of peace inside; stemmed from the realisation of how blessed he was to live in country free of societal conflict or oppression.
Just as his spirit had be rekindled, it was swept away to the sound of an ambulances piercing siren. Identifiable over any distance in this hour of the morning, its noise reverberated through the waking city as an infrequent reminder of human fragility, whoever and wherever they may be. Allan listened to the noise fill his mind, the siren, never ceasing. Looking up and around, he saw the flickering of lights on in the apartments far above him, they too absorbed by the shrilling noise. Like a heartbeat fading away, so did the ambulance’s shriek diminish into the silent nothingness all around. Allan continued to sit, distracting himself from the menial situation through the fickle thoughts of his own minds making. Often of late, Allan had been thinking to himself more regularly than normal, letting his thoughts carry him wherever, a habit which more than once been unproductive. ‘For as he thinketh within himself, so is he,’ he recalled from Sundays sermon; a constant reminder to keep his thoughts away from immoral desires and foreboding political issues around the world. As an enlightened individual, Allan was always keen to decipher the essence of situations, whatever they may be, yet the societal and political climate of late had caused him great distress and a troubled mind. Perhaps the end times were coming. What it the return of Christ was imminent in the ensuing decades, or what if humanity destroys itself first? Captivating thoughts like this often crossed his mind and the ever-changing news of late, like the Eisenhower ‘domino theory’, increased his appetite for attempting to rationalise and predict the future. Time progressed as Allan envisaged his thoughts relating to such matters. Alas, the bus driver that would have normally picked up Allan was now in a better place, as of 6:45am that morning. Unaware, Allan remained in the bus shelter, waiting in vain for a bus to carry him off, away, away.

979 words

'Hope in Hiroshima' Short Story - HSC English Extension

Lorna reached out with her hand, accompanied with a grunt of pain. She could hear screams all around her, unrestrained sounds of terror and suffering. Rocks had entrapped her and her arms ached with pain. Squirming her way through a hole, she forced herself to press on. As her head emerged from the rubble, pungent smells of burning flesh and fire and ash filled her hot nostrils. Repulsed by the reeking odour, she squeezed shut her eyes in her final attempt to escape her temporary tomb. “Ahh, my leg!” Lorna exclaimed as she rolled onto her smashed bedroom floor she’d previously been walking on. Her leg catching a serrated rock that gashed the side of her thigh. Moaning in agony, she opened her eyes to be met with a living nightmare. All around her, chaos. Buildings were flattened, homes destroyed and cars scattered around like fallen leaves in autumn. Within this milieu of desolation and destruction, people were dying, their screams reverberating throughout the remnants of the burning city. Lorna summoned the energy left within her to prop herself up, the pain streaking up her leg felt like the flames licking the trunks of charred trees all around her. As she forced each step, the hopelessness of her situation arose. People, dead or dying, lay everywhere. Some were burnt, others were mangled under wreckage, and some were alive and screaming for help, most beyond rescue. “Shikata ga nai,” she murmured, reminiscing about her friends. Ripping her eyes away from the devastation, she looked upwards, to the cracking of thunder above from where rain soon fell, to a place that a God may still exist.
With every step, she uncontrollably wept for the suffering of other people, yet as the rains came down from the angry heavens, the cries diminished like the darkening sky. The rain stung Lorna’s shoulders, seeping through her clothes with an acid-like burn. Though the buildings had been destroyed, Lorna instinctively navigated the strewn wreckage in the hopeful direction of her spiritual home. “Tasukete! Tasukete!” victims cried as she stumbled past them. Lorna’s tears flowed again, her mouth a quivering, gaping hole of emptiness from which sounds would not come. She could help nobody, not even herself. Along the broken path she steely resolved to hobble, she saw the back of a woman kneeling over. As Lorna approached, she noticed the woman to be silently cradling a lifeless boy of about three years old. Her arms were raw, red and mangled as she wrapped her son in a pure white sheet. Turning away in nausea, Lorna pressed on forward with her head bowed and arms crossed. Her body shook uncontrollably due to the cold, so she narrowed her eyes, shutting out the peripheral disaster of all that was around her. 
With only a glimmer of hope pushing her on, Lorna progressed through the God-forsaken city. Contemplating her situation, she reaffirmed that the church would be a safe place. It was an old building, a matriarch of the city, one of the only few sights that had not been modernised like the rest of Hiroshima. Perhaps, just perhaps she may find solace there, in friends, in family, in God? Answers too maybe. Like who … who could have done this? Nothing … nothing had been known to mankind could cause the amount of devastation around her. A Molotov flower basket? Now it had finally happened, a bomb on Hiroshima, yet no one would have every guessed something to be as destructive as this. The innocence, the INNOCENCE of the people. Who has the right, who … why do such a thing, why? Looking up again, not far away now, Lorna managed to glimpse the cross that rested on the precipice of the Jesuit Church of Our Lady’s Assumption in Hiroshima. Like a beacon of hope, Lorna felt the repressed feelings of misery and desolation slowly fade inside her, as she approached the holy building; her salvation in this firestorm of fear was only a few hundred metres ahead.
At the footsteps of her church, was a man lying on his back, burnt and devoid of recognition, yet still a man. As she carefully navigated her way up the steps, the man suddenly wailed, taking Lorna by surprise. “There is no hope, nothing, only … death,” cried out the man, writhing in pain against the concrete steps. Lorna was yet unimpeded by the man who spoke her English language upon entering the mighty chapel, where the doors were smashed in and lying in fragments along the scarlet-coloured floors. Formerly this church stood as a place of peace and comfort for her. Now in a maelstrom of decay, the church acted as a fortress of safety, amidst the obliteration of other buildings. As Lorna knelt in front of the altar she prayed, “Father, I … I need you now, more than ever before. I don’t understand. How has this happened, my home, my friends, gone. The … the suffering out there, it’s … it can’t be real. The … people outside, they don’t deserve this. Help them. Where are you? I need a sign. Please. I need a sign. Something. Anything.” For a while Lorna sat there in silence, trying to search for a sense of hope, a reason to go on, to have faith. In a rumble of thunder, the clouds burst once more, raking the roofing far above her with heavy drops of water. “I need a … I need a hero … a saviour,” Lorna muttered as she collapsed face first into her hands. Crying for the futility of her situation, absent hope or rescue, she turned her back on the altar and distastefully walked away. As she removed herself from the building, the one that offered her no consolation, she lifted her eyes to another vessel of hope. In the distance ahead, not more than two miles away, the Red Cross Hospital. Perhaps that would offer her the kind of tangible deliverance she so desperately needed.       

1001 words

'Traffic Lights' Short Story - HSC English Extension

Red - Stop. Green - Go. Red - Stop. Green - Go. Max’s newfound fondness for colours was at first cute, then unyielding, just like the lines of traffic that lined up for miles at each intersection. “Third red light,” complained Dad cocking his head, pensively tapping at the steering wheel, “will we ever get out of here?” The congestion was ever more common these days, the never-ending lines of hungry vehicles craving to escape the confined city in exchange for a tranquil countryside. Yet the white Dodge caravan was headed for a different place, St Matthews Church in National City, San Diego. “Why are we going to church Dad?” asked Max inquisitively, his bright eyes hiding the frustration of being squashed by this brother and sister, either side of him. “Well, me and your mother thought it … good to see the old place, it’ll be fun,” Dad replied, clasping his wife’s knee. “Just like travelling on a big toot toot train to Treblinka would be fun,” murmured Violet. Mummy sighed. “If we ever get there, say Dad, it’d be swell,” added Adam, trying to remain positive. The lines of traffic never ceased, each and every vehicle was in a struggle for freedom from the confining houses of their suburbia. The fumes from the crowd of vehicles rose up out of the city, creating an indelible smog that lingered above everything . Higher above, dark clouds formed a shady mass, blocking the golden rays of sunlight from ever reaching the ground, covering the city in a sinister darkness. Like a line of lost sheep, the vehicles ahead slowly progressed, the Dodge making roughly a mile every quarter of an hour. The insignificance of their existence and the ambiguous hope of ever escaping, plagued the minds of the collective travellers. Waiting, waiting, waiting, for the line to move along, car by car by car. “Nothing to be done,” breathed Dad, breaking the accumulated tension in the caravan.  Mummy sighed. This boulevard yielded dwindling dreams.
As the day grew darker, time again seemed to slow, even stop at some points. So when the clock ticked over to a 09:00, Dad decided to get a quick weather update, flicking the switch to pick up the local 94/9 FM station. Nothing but static blared from the speakers at first, until promising squeaks of noise filtered through the deep-toned screeching. “… the next few days should be of a pleasant 76 degrees, but for now, put on your raincoat to avoid the expected rain forecast for the next few hours,” spoke the weatherwoman on radio, as Dad dialled the volume down. “That about seals it, what a morose day it is, rain ahead while this line of cars makes progress nearly unbearable.” “Oh I like rain, I like the little blue drops,” Jack yelled, happy as ever. “How much rain was it going to be, Dad,” asked Adam. “About 5 inches in the next few days, son, too much for this time of year,” Dad replied conservatively. “That’s lots,” Max exclaimed, dashing an inquisitive look at Violet. “Not enough to wash Himmler’s hands,” murmured Violet. Mummy sighed. Dad then assumed Violet’s constricted and unchanged seating position, gazing out the left window, thinking, waiting.
As time progressed, Dad continued to drive ahead, through the inner city avenues that were home to the richest, greediest and wealthiest of people, and now the quieter outer suburbs that offered quieter suburban living. Adjacent to the road ahead was a small neighbourhood park, where dogs ran free with their owners and happy children played, oblivious to their solemn parents. At the base of some of the trees were flower plantations, rejuvenated after the recent rains. Max was now enthralled by colours, especially those created by wild and beautiful flowers. “Dad, Dad, can we go back to see those flowers, they were so pretty?” asked Max. “There’s no turning back … to the way it was,” murmured Violet. Mummy sighed. “Erm, sorry son, it’ll have to be another time,” responded Dad. “Aww,” Max muffled, his eyes returning to his crossed little hands in his lap. “You’ll be right Max, church has got flowers too, ya’ll have a great time in the gardens,” Adam affirmed, resting his hand on his brother’s knee. “If you want lots of flowers, go take a trip down Hiroshima some time,” Violet murmured. Mummy sighed. Dad pressed on, unphased by Violet’s comments. After Max had forgotten the flowers they’d just past, he whiningly blurted out, “Are we there yet?” Dad then replied with his automated response, “Not yet … but surely soon enough.” The caravan continued to stop, go, stop, go, never allowing the passengers to feel comfortable.
After another period of time in the silence in the caravan, Dad cranked up the volume of the transistor again, eager for a day brightener. Yet his day descended to unprecedented depths. “… and in breaking news, it has been confirmed that a Korean Air Lines civilian plane has been shot down by a Soviet interceptor. Search and rescue operations reported that no survivors have been found, with the number of casualties estimated to exceed 260. Among the missing is American democrat, Larry McDonald. Our hearts go out to him and his family, and to all others impacted from this event,” expounded the radio correspondent. Choking at his words and bowing his head, Dad managed to stutter, “my God,” before he brought out his handkerchief to daub his tears. The silence after Dad turned off the radio pierced through every heart and mind in the caravan. Even Max realised in his juvenile mind, that his words would bring no comfort to anyone at the present time. Adam reached out his hand in front of him to caress his mother’s shoulder, feeling the tremors emanating from within her. From far above, the white Dodge managed to gain minimal ground again, before reaching another halt. Waiting ensued.

987 words

Cloudstreet Essay - HSC Assessment

Cloudstreet Essay
How does Winton raise the mundane to an epic level in “Cloudstreet”?
·         40 minute in-class essay with 1 page of typed notes
Tim Winton’s raises the mundane to an epic level in ‘Cloudstreet’ through the complex amalgam of intertwining ideologies that include post-modernism, Christianity, Aboriginal spirituality and the working-class lifestyle. The way in which this is produced in the text is through the intricate relationships between the novels characters and their situations, by which they are characterised by the aforementioned ideologies that permeate the text. Furthermore Winton elevates the novel to the extraordinary through the judicious interplay of physical and the spiritual elements. Winton’s prolific application of these two dominant themes prevalent in the ‘Cloudstreet’ raises the mundane to an epic level.
Winton’s eclectic range of ideological influences within the text connects different audiences with the text so as to appeal to a larger societal collective. Whilst major philosophies such as Christianity, Aboriginal spirituality and the working-class lifestyle make a strong impact on the interpretation of the novel, none of the ideologies are privileged over one another, yet they are interdependent with each other, proposing a post-modernist perspective as well. The river, for example, brings together both Christian and Aboriginal beliefs, with Christians using the river as a source of cleansing of sins whilst the river symbolises water, life and fertility for Aboriginals. Thus the novel values both interpretations unique to Christianity and Aboriginal culture. The river is an important meeting place throughout the novel and to a greater extent, so is family, belonging and place, which is validated by the blackfella, ‘this isn’t your home. Go back to your home mate’. Thus the tradition of Christian community and the importance of place in Aboriginal culture, both coincide to create a rich ‘paratext’ (French critic Gerard Genette) for the novel to be immersed in.
The working-class lifestyle is also prevalent in the way the characters live their lives. The resilience of working-class people and appreciation of ‘battlers’ is showcased through ‘sergeant-major’ Oriel’s puritanism and hard work ethic – ‘it’s all war … everythin. Raisin a family, keeping yer head above water. Life. War is our natural state.’ Added to this are the seemingly unrelated inclusion of events such as Beryl Lee, the Pentecostal pig and Sam’s cockatoo, whose connection to the main plot is minimal, validating a working class view of experience where one isn’t always in control of life, but subject to the flow of experience. From a post-modernist outlook, it can also be seen as an outlook on life which rejects coherent and systematic narratives as the most appropriate reflection of human experience. The value of working class experience is particularly highlighted in the celebratory ending of the novel with ‘how we’ve all battled in the same corridor time makes for us’. Through these diverse range of philosophical influences, a signature snapshot of a unique post-WW2 time period of Australian society is effectively conveyed, proving that ‘Cloudsteet’s’ value goes beyond the story, raising an ordinary novel to the pinnacle of extraordinary.
One of ‘Cloudsteet’s’ most significant aspects is the interweaving of the physical and spiritual. While the novel is in itself realistic, it also presents a transcendental view as well. In chapter two, when Lester, Quick and Fish are prawn-fishing in the sea, they are described as ‘walking on water,’ with Lester’s head seeming ‘illuminated’ and ‘free of his body’. This somewhat paints a picture of them as angels and followers of Jesus (who Biblically walked on water). Then, as the prawn ‘net goes slack,’ Fish goes down into the sea. Subsequently, it switches from the omniscient third person narrator to the perspective of Fish, who states that ‘all his life and all his next life’ he will remember the ‘dark, cool plunge where sound and light and shape are gone’. Underwater, it is a completely different world for Fish where he has a ‘faint idea of light,’ and while his soul is ‘torn away,’ and his ‘darkness melts into something warm’. As he comes back into reality, he screams and his ‘darkness and pain’ return. Oriel intercepts the destiny of Fish by ‘bringing him back’ and though the Lamb’s perceive this as miraculous, Fish will forever resent his mother. Note that whilst Fish’s drowning, the sky is described as the ‘colours of darkness, starless, mute’. Later in the novel when Quick and Fish are in a boat, Fish is ‘flying’ with his ‘arms out like he’s gliding’ on water and how that the sky is now ‘packed with stars’ and is ‘above and below’, everywhere to be seen. This ‘river scene’ and Fish’s constant desire for ‘water’ deduces that the idea that water is heaven for Fish and he’s craving to reunite both parts of himself back together.
The river is a recurring motif throughout ‘Cloudstreet’. Through the conventions of magic realism and surrealism, the river forms the focal setting where many important events occur. The ‘blackfella’ walks on the river and persuades Quick to rejoin his family, fish ‘that shone like money’ swarm into Quick’s boat in a scene of magic realism and Fish and Quick are embraced by the stars on the river. In a deeper sense amid these surrealistic events, the river is also symbolic for the lives of the two families. As a river meanders and curves through a landscape, likewise do the lives of the Pickles and Lambs throughout the novel. In the Bible, ‘the river’ correlates with the renewing of life as sins are washed away in the act of Baptism. Though when Fish drowns, ‘not all of Fish Lamb … come[s] back’. Thus whilst one half of the Fish is trapped in the spiritual realm, the other half is still free to wander the physical realm. At the beginning of the novel, the families are somewhat rundown and derelict, but by the ending of the novel ‘Cloudstreet’ becomes a ‘home for their hearts’ and a place of belonging. At the closing of the chapter Fish ‘burst[s] into the moon, sun and stars,’ thus signifying the unification of both his physical self with his spiritual self, completing the full circle. Together ‘by the river’ the two families celebrate love, family and acceptance. Hence the seemingly ordinary river portrayed in ‘Cloudstreet’ can be accentuated as a transcendental river for the miraculous and renewal.
Together with the blending of diverse ideologies, realism and mysticism is astutely commingled by Tim Winton in ‘Cloudstreet’ to create a magically realistic novel. Though simplistically, the story is about two average families struggling to rebuild their lives after separate disheartening events, beneath this is a strong undercurrent that conceals a combination of numerous complex ideologies, as well as the transcendental and the mystical; such as the river. Thus through both the myriad of ideologies, stark realism and transcendentalism, Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet transforms the mundane into the epic.

 1116 words 

Richard III Speech - HSC Assessment

THE TASK: - Students are to prepare and deliver to the class a speech that addresses the following questions:-

1.     How are Richard 111 (the play) and Looking for Richard (the film) products of the time in which they were created?
2.     What are the similarities and differences between the texts?
3.     Do both texts still have something to offer 21st Century audiences?

Through the exploration of what it is to be human, William Shakespeare’s play ‘Richard III’ and Al Pacino’s film ‘Looking for Richard’ are both ephemeral products of their time, created for the entertainment of the societal audience. While Shakespeare utilised a range of linguistic techniques like emotive language, symbolism and dramatic devices to express his universal ideas, Pacino employed costume, interviews and cinematic devices to exemplify themes such as power, human weakness, morality and guilty conscience that are central to the play. Using film to correlate Shakespeare, the silver screen is a far more effective medium to depict the craft of performance and highlight the power of Shakespeare’s language for a contemporary audience. Whilst ‘looking for’ his contextual society’s perceptions of Shakespeare, Pacino’s goal in making this docu-drama is to ‘reach out to a modern audience’, explaining that the timeless values permeating Richard III, transcend Shakespeare’s contextual world and still coincide with the values we hold today.

One of Shakespeare’s fundamental themes is the pursuit of power, conveyed through the manipulation and deceit that characterises Richard on his ruthless quest to be king. Richard’s heraldic emblem – the boar – symbolises Richard’s insatiable thirst for power, which is intimately told to the audience in his opening soliloquy, as he explains due to his ‘deformed’ (1.1.20) physical appearance, he ‘cannot prove a lover’ (1.1.28) in these peace loving days, thus he is ‘determined to prove a villain’ (1.1.30). In reality Richard III was not deformed, yet this is employed as dramatic device to metaphorically symbolise that Richard is evil, relating to the Elizabethan paradigms of the time. Given that modern society doesn’t associate disabled people as evil, Pacino dons black attire to emphasise the malevolent nature of Richard’s character. As Pacino is filmed, the lighting is divided so that Pacino’s face is half illuminated and half silhouetted, exemplifying the duplicity of his nature and reinforcing one of Shakespeare’s trademark themes – appearance vs. reality. Firstly, as proof of his lust for power, Richard eliminates those who stand before him in the line of the crown by vigilantly plotting their deaths. Richard’s ambition for power causes him to abstain from all morals, as he organises the murder of his brother, Clarence.  Testament to this is his tone of confidence, he says ‘Go tread the path that thou shalt ne’er return’, (1.1.118) as he sends his own brother to his death. ‘Looking for Richard’ also deals with this concept of power, with Pacino further exploring Richard’s actions in the first soliloquy. As Pacino and Kimball rehearse the opening scene, the body positioning of Pacino’s menacing figure standing over the sick King Edward implies he has already taken over control of the kingdom. The display of power is further amplified when he breathes, ‘plots have I laid ... inductions dangerous’ (1.1.32). This part of Pacino’s soliloquy features him softly whispering in front of a camera to further emphasise the resonance of his words. Filming this way creates a more intimate experience for the audience, an advantage of the film medium. The scene of Clarence’s death in the Tower of London begins with a high-angle shot of Clarence dressed in white, sleeping like an angel. Clarence is hence symbolically portrayed as innocent and defenceless; further contrasting Richard’s malign nature. The desire for power serves as a major theme in Richard III, depicted strongly in both the play and film with Richard being the most powerful person in the play from the very beginning. Power also acts as the catalyst for the rise and eventual downfall of Richard, yet Richard’s acquisition of power cannot be attributed solely to his manipulative skills.

One other contributing factor that facilitates Richard’s elevation and success in becoming King is the moral weakness of other characters he manipulates. Richard’s aptitude for accurately identifying and exploiting other characters’ weaknesses allows him to achieve great power. This Machiavellian nature inherent in Richard coincides with refraining from all moral precepts like ‘the end justifies the means’ and ‘politics have no relation to morals’. Richard’s prolific skill with language combined with being able to identify the weaknesses of other allows him to easily subjugate Lady Anne in an impressive stichomythic quarrel to marry her. Anne’s weaknesses are effectively showcased in ‘Looking for Richard’, as Richard finds her vulnerable and looking for someone to save her from her lonesome situation. She appears weak in her scene with Richard, choosing not to harm him; even when he urges to do so and not resisting the ring Richard places on her finger. The scene cuts to Richard exclaiming, ‘Ha!’ (1.2.243) signifying his victory at ‘was ever woman in this humor won?’ (1.2.233) Pacino also adds an element of sexual attraction between the two of them as they kiss. This would not have been accepted in Elizabethan context, but added to the film to illustrate how paradigms have changed regarding to displays of public affection in our modern society. Pacino’s doco-drama also takes the emphasis off Richard as the master orator and instead glorifies Shakespeare’s playwright. A detailed explanation of iambic pentameter is discussed and a number of vox populi videos indicate everyday people recognise the genius in Shakespeare’s words, with one man saying, ‘we should speak like Shakespeare’. These and other vox pop videos are employed by Pacino as he looks for society’s perceptions of Shakespeare. Another human weakness in Richard III is greed, which is prevalent in the murdering of the Princes. Tyrell does not hesitate at the notion of murdering King Richard’s young nephews, unlike Buckingham, yet is motivated by promised riches. Buckingham was also seduced by the promise of land and great wealth if he worked alongside Richard, yet he too had a breaking point. Shakespeare’s contextual audience would’ve been familiar with morality plays performed during the Elizabethan era. These plays introduce characters as temptations, as such; a character that was the vice would tempt other characters and exploit their human weaknesses. Richard compares himself to the vice when he says, ‘thus, like the formal Vice’ (3.1.82), indicating that to some extent, this is a morality play with human weakness as a significant theme. While Pacino doesn’t reveal knowledge on the morality plays in his documentary, moral limits are discussed with Barbara Everett quoting, ‘nobody can love the king beyond the degree ... of their own goodness.’ As Richard tests his subjects, the morality of different characters is stretched as he ‘finds out the point beyond which people won’t go,’ until they find the courage to leave him. Just like conscience eventually took hold in Buckingham’s thoughts, a guilty conscience can also have a defining effect on how a person can react.

Out of all of the numerous characteristics of human nature Shakespeare delved upon in Richard III, none are more compelling or personal than the human conscience. Exemplified in the scene of the two murderer’s irresolution to kill Clarence, ‘dregs of conscience’ (1.4.114) between the two are juxtaposed when they argue over morality. While one is steadfast on getting the job done, the other needs incentive to do the ‘bloody deed’ (1.4.255). The erratic murderer then fathoms that conscience ‘makes a man a coward,’ resolving to murder Clarence. Conscience is also vaguely implied regarding Richard on the eve of battle with Richmond. After the visitation of ghosts, Richard’s power and strength of mind come to an end as he suffers pangs of conscience. While drastically collecting his thoughts as he wakes, he blabbers his inner most thoughts revealing his wavering mind, ‘o coward conscience, how dost thou affect me!’ (5.3.183) and regret for his heartless actions, ‘is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am’ (5.3.188). Contemplating this he adds, ‘I am a villain,’ (5.3.195) with which he concludes his revelation with ‘there is no creature loves me, / And if I die no soul will pity me’ (5.3.204-205). This last quote accentuates the terrible consequences of suppressing your humanity for power. Pacino downplays this scene as ghosts are typically irrelevant concepts in our modern culture. He does however play Richard as having nightmares of all the victims he has murdered in his plot to become King. This is portrayed exclusively as a guilty conscience yet is briefly looked over to cut to the next day’s climatic battle.

While William Shakespeare’s play Richard III was particularly relevant to the contextual audience of his time and a product of the Elizabethan time period, Al Pacino’s film ‘Looking for Richard’ is a more accessible version of the Shakespeare’s original text for a contemporary audience, proving that they are both products of the time in which it was created. The two texts were performed using effective mediums relevant to the era, and though the methods of entertainment have changed, Shakespeare’s universal messages remain the same. Similarities between the two texts include human traits of desire for power and status, human weaknesses, morality and conscience. While Shakespeare masterpiece showcases depth in language relating to word use, symbolism and imagery, Pacino’s film reinforces the key values inherent in Richard III through symbolism, interviews and cinematic techniques. Thus, both texts still offer universal values of what it means to be human to 21st century audiences.


1522 words, 12 En Adv.

Business Studies Workplace Dispute Research Assessment – 2011 Qantas Industrial Dispute (19/20 mark)

Business Studies Workplace Dispute Research Assessment – 2011 Qantas Industrial Dispute
Executive Summary
The 2011 Qantas industrial disputes was a series of disputes that sparked international attention, as Australia’s largest airline became under fire internally as unions intensely bargained for new ‘enterprise agreements’. The fine line between labour and capital was intractably battled between three unions representing Qantas employees and Qantas’ high management. With a looming prospect of Qantas announcing intentions to launch a new airline in Asia, bargaining intensified with engineers, pilots and baggage handlers carrying out numerous industrial work-stop actions. At the climax of the dispute, Qantas unpredictably grounded its entire domestic and international fleet. This following report delves into all of the issues surrounding this complex dispute, including the parties involved, a timeline of events, its impact on the broader society, how the conflict was handled by opposing parties and its eventual resolution.
Dispute Summary
Background to the Dispute
This industrial dispute features two obstinate sides – Qantas’ management and board of directors, led by CEO Alan Joyce and three separate unions. Qantas is highly unionised, featuring over 48 different ‘Enterprise Bargaining Agreements’ (EBA). In this particular dispute, the following three unions were involved:
·         The Transport Workers Union of Australia (TWU) representing ground staff and baggage handlers
·         The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) representing aircraft pilots e.g. specifically long-haul pilots
·         The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) representing aircraft engineers
Whilst these unions were not directly related, they were all collectively striving for new and better EBA’s. Whilst the minor issues in each case differ, all unions have strong concerns relating to:
·         Working conditions to remain the same and levels of pay to increase
·         Aspects of outsourcing announced by Qantas to be refuted
·         Job security for its employees as the number of foreign workers continues to increase in jobs within to the Asia-Pacific region
Ever-presently involved for the duration of the dispute was the national workplace relations tribunal, Fair Work Australia (FWA). Acting as an independent body and an industrial court, FWA has the responsibility and power to carry out a range of functions, including:
·         The safety net of minimum wages and employment conditions
·         Enterprise bargaining
·         Industrial action
·         Dispute resolution
·         Termination of employment
Thus as an accountable firm for workplace disputes, FWA was significantly involved during the 2011 Qantas Industrial Dispute. One other third party whose rare involvement only impacts more serious industrial disputes is the Federal Government, led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who only intervened during the higher escalation of events as it drew nearer to damaging the Australian economy. In summary, the major parties encompassed in this dispute include Qantas’ management, the three unions (the TWU, AIPA, and ALAEA) and FWA, while the Federal Government also made a lesser impact on this dispute.
The commencement of this series of industrial disputes can be traced back to the July 22, 2011, where is spanned a little over 3 months to end on the 31st of October, 2011. During this time, the intensity of the dispute increased at an exponential rate, as the intractable nature of both parties escalated the disagreement. Included in this timeline of events is the background context of the dispute leading up to the first industrial actions. The following paragraphs comprehensively illustrate the sequence of critical events that led Qantas from a ‘behind closed doors’ dispute, to one that heralded international infamy.
Timeline of Dispute
August 23 2010 – A campaign for a renewal of its EBA is initiated by the AIPA, representing 1700 pilots
February 15 2011 – After Qantas terminated the ALAEA’s original EBA in December 2010; the ALAEA’s new proposed log of claims features – a) the new construction of a heavy maintenance facility of the A380, and b) rise in wages for contractors to equal Qantas staff
March 15 2011 – The ALAEA orders FWA to authorise a secret ballot for its members, regarding methods of industrial action
March 22 2011 – The TWU announces that 9000 Qantas workers are ready to strike for a 4% pay increase; Qantas responds that no negotiations will proceed until July
March 30 2011 – Qantas states that indefinite job cuts will result from rising fuel prices and recent natural disasters
May 9 2011 – ALAEA members stop work for 2hr, as the union claims that negotiations with Qantas have “hit a brick wall”
May 10 2011 – The TWU begins developing a new EBA with Qantas
May 26 2011 – FWA grants AIPA a secret ballot allowing long-haul pilots to vote on industrial action, for the first time in 45 years
June 2 2011 – Qantas offers voluntary redundancies to all 7000 of its cabin crew
July 2 2011 – Qantas engineers call of planned industrial action in Melbourne and Perth due to the grounding of Tiger Airways
July 11 2011 – Long-haul pilots vote to take protected industrial action against Qantas, after claims of sending their jobs offshore
July 22 2011 – AIPA organises Qantas pilots on international flights to make unauthorised in-flight announcements, informing passengers about their current dispute
July 25 2011 – Ground staff vote for a protected industrial action ballot after Qantas knocks back proposal over new EBA’s
July 27 2011 – FWA authorises TWU to hold a secret ballot for protected industrial action
http://qantaspilots.com.au/beta123/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Untitled2.pngAugust 16 2011 – Qantas announces a major restructure, ensuing 1000 job cuts as it proposes to establish a new Asian-based premium airline, thus infuriating unions and employees.
Text Box: In relation to this new proposal made by Qantas idea, an independent survey was carried out by http://www.yrsource.com/ to gauge how the public would react to Qantas new overseas prospects.
The question asked was:
Qantas management is considering removing some Qantas flying bases from Australia and basing it in Asia to cut costs. Current Qantas pilots will most likely be excluded from operating these flights, which will be operated be other pilots on Asian terms and conditions. Which option best sums up your opinion of this plan? 
Pie Chart on right reveals public opinion.
 











The results from the survey[1] above validated the AIPA’s view of the disastrous effects that foreign overseas labour would bring to the job security held by Australian Qantas Pilots. Hence the qantaspilots.com.au website utilised this research, to promote to the public its case against Qantas propositioning foreign pilots from taking over Australian jobs, as part of its online petition to raise more public support for its case.
August 19 2011 – Qantas engineers vow to stop work for one hour, every weekday, from August 25 to the week prior Christmas
August 24 2011 – Qantas announces a doubling of its full-year net profit to $250 million, yet Alan Joyce argues that Qantas is still not delivering good returns on shareholder’s investment[2]
Text Box: Represented in the graph to the left, is the gradual decline of Qantas ‘Return on Equity’ (ROE) to its shareholders, which has averaged around 10% this last decade. 



This low number is resultant from Qantas’ previous low profitability that has been sliding over the decade, giving cause for Qantas to look overseas for more avenues to increase profit.
August 25 2011 – Qantas engineers start work at Sydney Airport an hour late
August 31 2011 – Qantas holds conciliation talks with AIPA at its request, as to avert intensified strike action by long-haul pilots
September 5 2011 – Forty engineers at Brisbane airport strike
September 20 2011 – Over 4000 ground staff strike over pay and conditions, leading to delays and cancellations for 55 flights
September 23 2011 – Aircraft maintenance engineers affect 1300 passengers after holding a 1hr strike
September 30 2011 – 39 Qantas flights are delayed by up to an hour, along with two others cancelled, when baggage handlers and ground staff strike again. TWU also forewarns of more nationwide stoppages
October 5 2011 – Reports emerge of Alan Joyce and other senior executives receiving death threats
October 6 2011 – Baggage handlers and ground staff call off a nationwide strike in a ‘gesture of good faith’
October 7 2011 – Qantas agrees to a 3% annual wage rise and $500 lump sum for its 2100 flight attendants (not related to AIPA)
October 10 2011 – 80 flights are delayed, despite engineers cancelling industrial action as Qantas threatened to withhold pay
October 13 2011 – Qantas says that it will ground 5 aircraft and cut up to 100 domestic flights a week, prompting more union accusations and possible federal government intervention
October 14 2011 – PM Julia Gillard asks Qantas and unions to negotiate. Engineers cancel all industrial action for two weeks
October 15 2011 – Qantas announces its cancellation of 400 domestic flights over the next month
October 16 2011 – PM Julia Gillard says she can’t intervene, as Qantas cancels 16 domestic flights
October 18 2011 – Qantas grounds another 2 aircraft and cancels 80 flights
October 20 2011 – Engineers hopeful of securing a deal, cancel all pre-empted industrial action for 3 weeks as to challenge Qantas to resume its full flight schedule
October 28 2011 – TWU confirms that 1hr will stoppages will be held at major airports around Australia, involving baggage handlers and ground staff. Alan Joyce apologises to 10,000 passengers delayed by strikes. After receiving a $5 million salary package at the Qantas AGM, he also states that the strikes have cost Qantas $68 million
October 29 2011 – Qantas suddenly grounds its entire domestic and international fleet, impacting 447 flights and 70000 passengers at 22 airports around the world. Qantas also announces to lock out workers from the next Monday, as response to prior industrial actions and claims of the three unions. Unions respond to this as “a stunning overreaction”
October 31 2011 – After PM Julia Gillard urgently requested a FWA hearing, FWA terminated all industrial action between Qantas and the unions at 2am, after a 12 hour teleconference video “full bench” hearing held in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. FWA also gave Qantas and the unions 21 days of industrial action-free bargaining. Qantas announces planes to be back to full flying scheduled by Wednesday.
Analysis of Parties Actions
Analysis of Unions Actions
From the beginning of the dispute, both parties involved had their sights on better and more profitable times to come. The unions wanted what is best for the employees they represent, with concerns relating to levels of pay, aspects of outsourcing and job security. In order for the three unions to stake its claim and contract new and improved EBA’s, the unions had to go through a number of steps in legitimately taking industrial action against Qantas. These included:
1.       To firstly request FWA to authorise a secret ballot, allowing workers to vote for industrial action as a means of bargaining for their new enterprise agreements.
2.       After this was sanctioned by FWA, the employees under each union were allowed to vote for industrial action.
3.       Once votes were counted in all three cases, overwhelming numbers were in favour of pilots, engineers and baggage handlers to take out industrial action against Qantas.
4.       From that time on, minor cases of lawful forms of “protected industrial actions” of increasing severity were taken out against Qantas, including:
-          Pilots making un-authorised in flight announcements of their conflict with Qantas, refer 22/7/2011
-          Engineers starting work an hour late, refer 25/8/2011 
-          Ground staff striking, refer 20/9/2011
5.       As the situation escalated, the workers under each union began making stronger impacts on the efficiency of Qantas operations, including:
-          Engineers disrupt 1300 passengers from a 1hr strike, refer 23/9/2011
-          Baggage handlers delay 39 flights for an hour after another strike, refer 30/9/2011
6.       By this time, Qantas had met the unions head on in organising groundings of aircraft as well. The unions then challenged Qantas to heed its desires for new EBA’s if it returned to full flight schedule, in turn for unions to abstain from further industrial action.
These above actions were taken out by Qantas employees, under the guidance of their unions, in order to make a stand for its plea for new enterprise agreements. Since earlier attempts at getting Qantas attention failed, the unions felt they had no other alternative but to increase the severity of the industrial actions taken out to further support their claims. The unions stubbornly fought as hard as they could for their case and didn’t falter in light of Qantas’ own actions.
Analysis of Qantas’ Reactions
Qantas main goal was to increase their bottom line by lowering labour costs, specifically on international routes as Qantas is supposedly losing $200 million a year in this way alone. It hopes to achieve this profitable scheme this in a number of ways:
·         To set up a new offshore flight base, possibly with a new premium airline (refer 16/8/2011). By outsourcing its Human Resources, Qantas would effectively be more profitable by lowering pay rates for foreign workers and employ longer shifts. Qantas already does this by paying pilots on the trans-Tasman route in New Zealand a third less than in Australia.
·         Secondly, it is currently running code-share flights with Jetstar and paying pilots at Jetstar rates to cut costs. By extending codeshare arrangements, nationally and internationally, it can further be more cost-effective.
·         Thirdly, Qantas is looking for the right to employ contract labour ground staff to meet demand during seasonal peaks. The TWU has accepted this but wants contract hire companies to be unionised.
As the unions and its employees dissented against the authority of Qantas’ management, Qantas too had to counter these actions and maintain complete command over its workers and the imposing situation. Qantas claims that its international operations are losing $200 million a year but not all the changes it’s after are confined to international operations. Qantas also said that it is fighting its own right to manage a business against the unions. Yet since the Qantas managers want to cut pay rates, change work practices, take jobs offshore and lower labour costs to increase profit, you can see why unions want to have a say. Whilst its employees had strikes of their own, Qantas then took matters into its own hands and made infrequent moves in grounding its planes, thus not paying their personnel. As the situation continued to intensify, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce ordered a full termination of all aircraft and a grounding of its entire fleet. This tactic employed by Alan Joyce threatened to damage Qantas’ reputation by disrupting not only its workforce, but thousands of customers around the world. Alan Joyce felt he had no other alternatives and that this would trigger government intervention. His tactical move appeared to succeed as it caused a national crisis, made more effective by the geographical location and isolation of Australia as a large, island continent and its reliance on aircraft for overseas commuting. Thus the federal government ordered the FWA to intervene immediately.
Conflict Resolution
As a result of the unyielding temperament of both the unions and Qantas, the situation intensified until the government intervened and FWA terminated all industrial action. While the industrial action taken out by the unions was perilous to Qantas, Qantas further riled and took action against the unions by grounding planes and cutting flights. Thus as either side took a strike at each other, the situation only worsened until other third parties became involved.
After the 21 days of bargaining between Qantas and its unions, ordered by FWA on the 31st of October, had yielded no further resolutions, FWA was forced into arbitration and make a final decision to settle the dispute. During this time with FWA’s impartial help, Qantas and the unions worked through aspects of the disputes which can be mutually agreed or would need to be determined by arbitration. In preference to whose side that FWA would take, Qantas assumed that FWA would not make decisions that would encroach on areas relating to Qantas’ own “business and management decisions”. This could include the way in which work was conducted or by whether foreign workers performed certain jobs. Qantas took view that its proposals to outsource its HR and establish more subsidiaries overseas as falling under such “business and management decisions”. This suggests that Qantas was in a sounder place regarding the possible outcomes of the arbitration process. Nevertheless, FWA listened to lots of submissions from the parties, including witnesses and allegations.
During this time, the challenge for all parties was to rebuild trust and restore good working relationships in order to re-establish Qantas’ reputation with customers, the government and other stakeholders. In the several months to come, FWA came to final decisions as to appease both Qantas and its unions. The following paragraphs disclose the timeline of ensuing repercussions of Qantas’ global grounding and how dispute resolutions were resolved between unions and Qantas.
Timeline of Resolution Process
November 21 2011 – Qantas and AIPA, TWU and ALAEA fail to reach agreements in the designated 21 day timeframe
November 28 2011 – Qantas reports to the ASX, that the combined cost of industrial actions has cost the company $194 million, (consisting of $70 million from groundings, $56 through customer loyalty and forward bookings and $68 million from union actions I prior to the grounding)
December 19 2011 – Qantas and ALAEA consensually agree to FWA for both a 3% wage rise and job security for existing engineers. A380 maintenance is mutually allowed to be offshore.
January 23 2012 – FWA endorses provisions of the new enterprise agreement by Qantas and the ALAEA as a Workplace Determination. It includes trainees performing basic maintenance under supervision, less restrictions on extended hours, as well as other terms from the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement no.8 (EBA 8)
February 16 2012 – Qantas announce restructure of operations, resulting in an initial 500 positions lost that include engineers, cabin crew, catering staff, pilots and ground operations staff
March 22 2012 – FWA commences arbitration hearings between Qantas and the TWU, regarding the 2011 Industrial Actions
May 21 2011 – Qantas announces the closure of heavy maintenance at Tullamarine (VIC), relocating to Brisbane along with 535 job losses
Note – Current new agreements between Qantas and TWU and AIPA have not been finalised

Summary
The 2011 Qantas industrial disputes was one of Australia’s most renowned industrial disputes for the last few years. This report has clearly highlights the escalation of the dispute, the main parties involved, an analysis of how the conflict was handled by these parties and its eventual resolution. Also included in this report are the effects of this industrial dispute on an international scale and how the public views Qantas actions. While not all unions new EBA’s have been finalised, the future for Qantas and its unions looks promising as positive resolutions have replaced industrial actions.
By Jared Lieschke, 3090 words
Bibliography
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