[1] Electricity supply for the South East Queensland region of Australia was affected between 6 February and 7 March 1985 by labour union strikes initiated by the ETU of SEQEB.
On February 11, 1985 the Queensland government led by Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen “sacked” over 1000 linesmen and other workers for refusing to return to work after they had been ordered to do so.
The dispute enabled the Premier to introduce a number of legislative measures to curtail future union activity.
The ETU believed the move toward employing casual and contract staff would reduce job security for their employees, increase the length of the working week and would affect wage conditions.
Included in this group were staff who were members of the Municipal Officers Association, who were also threatened with fines for showing support for the ETU workers.
[4][5][6] Domestic households and small business' within South East Queensland were forced to use candles, kerosene lamps and torches for lighting and power as “load shedding’ was employed to satisfy nightly demand for electricity for 14 days.
[10] Brisbane punk band La Fetts adapted their song "We hate relatives" to become "SEQEB Scabs" in 1985.
[11] The documentary film, Friends and enemies (1987) by Tom Zubrycki, features interviews conducted with people representing union and government points of view to the SEQEB dispute over an 8-month period.