In what union leaders are calling evidence of general disdain for new labor laws, some 70,000 workers joined Australian unions between August 2004 and August 2005. This is the first major increase in membership in a decade which saw unions lose a third of their numbers. However, since the Australian workforce in general has markedly increased in size, the percentage of workers who are unionized in that country has actually declined.
See "Unions back in fashion as new members sign up", Nick O'Malley, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 27, 2006