This paper assesses whether ‘third way’ style policies can effectively address the key working life issues of today. It does this by reflecting on the experiences of ‘third way’ style policies as they operated in Australia between 1983 and 1996. We show that not only have such style policies failed to effectively address a deteriorating labour market situation, many have in fact been counter productive. We also argue that policies based on the classical wage earner model of employment are equally ineffectual. Instead the paper proposes that key contemporary labour market problems can only be effectively addressed if social, educational and industrial relations policies are integrated around a coherent understanding of key transitions over the life cycle.
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