"When Bob Hawke became prime minister in 1983 he could legitimately claim the party’s ties to the union movement reflected a natural affinity between the ALP and the workers, just over half of whom were union members. Today such a claim would be fallacious. Almost a third of union members list their occupation as manager or professional (32 per cent), according to the last ABS data. In industries with concentrations of trade union members, the biggest employer by far is the government: education and training (31 per cent), public administration and safety (28 per cent) and healthcare and social assistance (24 per cent). All have a vested interest in the growth of government.".
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