Ron Manners
Ron Manners is an Australian businessman. He is the founder and former chairman of Croesus Mining, at one point the third largest Australian controlled gold producer.
On May 2, 1979, in Kalgoorlie, my day kicked off with a jarring 4:00 am phone call. The caller, fumbling with the time difference between Kalgoorlie and Sydney, figured he’d catch me before lunch, saying, “I know it’s two or three hours off, not sure which way.”
At the office, chaos reigned: two of my three staff were out sick, leaving my secretary to field a barrage of calls while scrambling to arrange my lunchtime departure to Perth. Then, like a storm cloud, a union ‘heavy’ marched in, demanding to inspect our books.
My secretary relayed the request, and I shot back, “Some other time! Pick a mutually convenient slot.” She returned moments later, saying he refused to budge, insisting “now is convenient”.
I met the guy and laid out our frantic deadlines, pointing out that in a civilized world, people make appointments before hijacking someone’s day. His retort? “Why don’t you write that into the Industrial Award.”
When I called him out for strong-arming me, he smirked, suggesting I could “explain it to the magistrate”. Sure enough, weeks later, a summons landed on my desk, and I found myself in court.
The magistrate seemed to find our showdown mildly entertaining, though not exactly profound. I got the sense he’d have loved to toss the union’s charges out but hesitated, likely fearing a flood of small business owners challenging the often overbearing demands of unions and bureaucrats.
Limit government overreach by protecting your earnings, forcing fiscal discipline on spendthrift politicians.
I argued I wasn’t bound by an award I hadn’t signed, especially since none of my staff were union members or wanted their ‘compulsory assistance’. The union’s summons was sloppy, citing the wrong date for my alleged offense, but the magistrate still fined me $15 – the minimum – apologizing that the law didn’t explicitly require union reps to be polite or schedule visits. On the bright side, he extracted a promise from the union rep to act civilly and make appointments in the future.
This small ruling exposes a deeper issue: the creeping erosion of our economic and individual freedoms. Running a business is gruelling enough without union heavies crawling all over me. I’ve got no beef with unions in theory – if they were voluntary, they’d have to earn their members’ loyalty by delivering results.
Compulsory unions, though, scream their own insecurity. If they’re so great, why force people to join? Chambers of Commerce and other professional groups thrive without coercion. My court loss wasn’t just against the union: it was against state laws that hand them abusable power. In a true court of justice I’d have won, but in our legal system, socialism’s grip held firm.
Fredric Bastiat nailed this 130 years ago in The Law, arguing that socialists rely on “legal plunder” to weaponize the law.
He outlined three paths for society: limited plunder (the few rob the many), universal plunder (everyone robs everyone), or no plunder (the gold standard of justice, peace, and harmony).
Bastiat insisted the law’s only job is to protect everyone’s rights, not to meddle in labor, charity, commerce, or education. When the law organizes these, it perverts justice, turning might against right.
He warned of socialism’s seductive trap: the idea that the law must be philanthropic, extending welfare and morality across society. This contradicts freedom – you can’t be free and unfree simultaneously.
To fight this, I see four paths forward:
- Re-education: Spread awareness of voluntary alternatives to government mandates. Groups like the Foundation for Economic Education, led by Leonard Read, are doing this effectively.
- Tax Revolt: Limit government overreach by protecting your earnings, forcing fiscal discipline on spendthrift politicians.
- Civil Disobedience: Use non-violent resistance to signal we’re complying under duress, making it tough for the state to tighten its grip.
- Political Action: Back movements like the Libertarian Party to roll back state power through policy.
This small ruling exposes a deeper issue: the creeping erosion of our economic and individual freedoms.
Flash forward to 1988, when I was chairman of Croesus Mining NL. Post the introduction of compulsory superannuation, the Australian Workers Union demanded we funnel employee funds into their Labor-controlled super fund, threatening “action you won’t misunderstand” if we refused. It was clear they were after control of Australia’s new superannuation wealth – a ‘river of gold’ to dominate corporate voting power.
Our analytical team, usually focused on mining projects, evaluated the super funds. The union’s fund was the worst performer, so we chose better options for our employees. Summoned to the WA Industrial Relations Commission, we justified our stance, and 37 years of financial data later, our decision stands vindicated.
These battles show that a solid, principled, case can win, even in Australia’s often biased courts. But unions have quietly amassed influence, with proxy advisers bullying corporate boards at AGMs, especially on director’s pay. This partly explains Australia’s plummeting productivity rankings. A growing movement, Backbone Australia, is pushing back, encouraging companies and individuals to stand tall against this overreach. It’s about incentivizing courage – because caving to the status quo isn’t just surrender: it’s a slow death for our freedoms.
Backbone Australia seeks to incentivise Australians to stand up rather than bend over. More details at mannwest@mannkal.org.
This article was originally published by Liberty Itch.
