Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Christian Porter, said the appointees all have a high level of expertise in economics and that their backgrounds in industry or social policy make them highly qualified for appointment.
“The appointees bring an impressive breadth of knowledge, qualifications and experience to the Fair Work Commission,” Minister Porter said.
The Government has made the following appointments:
- The Hon Martin Ferguson AM
- Ms Adele Labine-Romain
- Professor Mark Wooden.
All have been appointed as part-time Expert Panel members for five years from 12 March 2020.
Appointments to the Fair Work Commission Expert Panel
The Hon Martin Ferguson AM
The Hon Martin Ferguson AM is currently Strategic Director – Natural Resources at SGH Energy and was formerly Federal Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism (2007-2013). He has been General Secretary of the Federated Miscellaneous Workers’ Union of Australia, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and a member of the governing body of the United Nations’ International Labour Office. Mr Ferguson has a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from Sydney University. Amongst other roles, Mr Ferguson is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association and a Director of the Yothu Yindi Foundation.
Ms Adele Labine-Romain
Ms Adele Labine-Romain is Partner and National Transport, Hospitality and Services Sector Leader with Deloitte Access Economics Pty Ltd. Ms Labine-Romain has a Masters of Business Administration from York University, Canada, and has been Executive General Manager Strategy and Research with Tourism Australia and Executive Director of the Tourism & Transport Forum.
Professor Mark Wooden
Professor Mark Wooden has been Professorial Fellow and Director of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey project in the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne since 2000. Professor Wooden is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, a Fellow of the Global Labor Organization Network and holds Research Fellowships with the Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, and the German Institute for Economic Research, Berlin. He was previously Professor and acting Director at the National Institute of Labour Studies at Flinders University
The Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review
The Annual Wage Review Expert Panel undertakes the annual review of the national minimum wage order and modern award minimum wages. Annual Wage Review Expert Panel members are required to have knowledge or experience in one or more of the following: workplace relations; economics; social policy; and/or business, industry or commerce.
Further information on the Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review is available here.
