The SEQEB strike of Queensland was a dispute between the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and SEQEB, on behalf of the government of Queensland in 1985. 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. A State of Emergency was enacted by the government on February 7 and operated until March 7. For a fortnight some 17,000 homes in South East Queensland were without power on a rotating scheme. Many industries were forced to shut down costing the economy an estimated $1 billion. Th