Abstract:

Professor Ian Harper will discuss the Australian Fair Pay Commission’s 2007 minimum wage decision, and articulate the Commission’s approach to minimum wage setting.  A key theme of his address will be the move from a judicial, adversarial approach to wage-setting to the present consultative, research-based system  Professor Harper will outline his vision for the Commission’s future and his desire that it be seen (like the Reserve Bank) as a respected, independent and expert organisation.  Details will also be revealed about how the Commission will undertake the task of creating and publishing new pay scales and will approach the challenge of rationalizing more than 105,000 pay classifications within about 4,000 pay scales.

About the Speaker:

A distinguished Australian academic economist, Professor Ian Harper was appointed inaugural Chairman of the Australian Fair Pay Commission by Prime Minister John Howard in October 2005.  Appointed as Chair in a part-time capacity, Professor Harper is both Sidney Myer Professor and Executive Director of the Centre for Business and Public Policy at the Melbourne Business School.  As a member of the Wallis Inquiry into financial market deregulation, Professor Harper was at the forefront of financial market reform in Australia. 
Professor Harper’s economic insights and expertise are utilised by governments, banks, the general business sector and leading professional firms.  Professor Harper is Principal of Harper Associates Australia, a Senior Consultant with CRA International and a consultant to Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Aon Australia and Adelaide Bank.
Prior to joining the Melbourne Business School in 1993, Professor Harper was Professor of Monetary and Financial Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce at the University of Melbourne.  He has also held positions at the Australian National University in Canberra, Princeton University in the United States and the Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney.  In 2000, Professor Harper was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia in recognition of his standing as an academic economist.  In 2004, Professor Harper was inducted to the ANU Faculty of Economics and Commerce Alumni Hall of Fame.

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