Alfred v Wakelin (No 4)

Alfred v Wakelin (No 4) involves the determination of penalties imposed on the respondents for contraventions of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (Cth), the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) and the John Holland Engineering Pty Ltd New South Wales – SMP Certified Agreement 2005. The respondents, Joseph O'Connor, the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) and the Australian Workers' Union, New South Wales (AWU-NSW), had engaged in industrial actions that were considered unlawful. The court had to determine the appropriate penalties that should be imposed on the respondents for these contraventions.

The primary legal issue before the court was the assessment of the appropriate penalties for the respondents' contraventions. The court had to consider the culpability of each respondent, the seriousness of the contraventions, and the principles of proportionality and deterrence in determining the penalties. The court also had to consider the relationship between the AWU and the AWU-NSW and whether the penalties should be apportioned between the two unions.

The court found that the unions' attempts to distance themselves from Mr O'Connor's conduct were unpersuasive, given that Mr Goring, the AWU organiser, had left Mr O'Connor in charge without providing him or John Holland with a copy of the unions' rules. The court also found that the unions' description of the industrial action as "wildcat" did not significantly mitigate their culpability. The court rejected the unions' argument that they were entitled to a material discount on account of their limited admissions of fact, noting that those admissions did not equate to an admission of liability at an early stage.

The court determined that the penalties should be apportioned between the AWU and the AWU-NSW, given their close relationship. The court also determined individual penalties for Mr O'Connor and the AWU, and then considered the aggregate penalties for each union to ensure they were "just and appropriate". The penalties imposed were as follows: Joseph O'Connor was ordered to pay $6,500 for the first stoppage and $2,500 for the second stoppage; the AWU was ordered to pay $20,000 for the first stoppage and $8,000 for the second stoppage; and the AWU-NSW was ordered to pay $12,500 for the first stoppage and $5,500 for the second stoppage.