MEANS TO DEFY COURT ORDER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18009, 20 November 1926, Page 8

MEANS TO DEFY COURT ORDER.

PIDDINGTON, K.C., IS OPPOSED TO FEDERAL ARBITRATION LAWS. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Aus. and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received November 20, 11 a.m.) SYDNEY, November 20. The Industrial Commissioner, Mr Piddington, K.C., has decided to defy the Commonwealth Arbitration Court order restraining the State Conciliation Committee from proceeding to make an award in regard to engineering apprentices. Mr Piddington said that awards of the Commonwealth arbiters were in effect permanent unless varied by Commonwealth arbiters, whose sway could not be escaped by appeal to any Court or Parliament in the Empire. “In this respect,” Mr Piddington continued, “ the Australian constitu tion now resembles nothing that exists or ever has existed in the British Empire. It has a close resemblance to the present constitution of Italy, where democracy has been abolished. The law-making power in Au ' n, so far as Labour laws or any special laws bearing on industrial matters are concerned, is now one of four persons, the three Judges of the Arbitration Court and the chairman of a special tri bunal.”