Brand New ‘Sharing’ or Plain Old ‘Sweating’? A Proposal for Regulating the New ‘Gig Economy’

Abstract

Politicians on both sides of the political spectrum in Australia have been embracing what they are calling the ‘sharing’, or ‘collaborative’ economy, typified by new app-enabled business enterprises linking up consumers with service providers of many kinds. Examples include Uber and Lyft in the passenger transport business; Airtasker and TaskRabbit in the market for odd-job services; Deliveroo and Foodora in takeaway food delivery; and Airbnb in short-term accommodation letting. The notion that these businesses involve ‘sharing’ or ‘collaboration’ depends on seeing them as means by which those who have surplus energy or assets can make money from sharing their skills