Thats right, the man I love to hate, Mister (and I use that term loosely) Tony Abbott, has announced today (as reported in the ABC news) that the coalition is considering a scheme which could deny the dole to under 30′s.
That’s right, it seems that the Abbott thinks that if you’re under 30 and don’t have a job you should move to Western Australia, because they have a labour shortage there (they also have a labor shortage there, but that’s another story).
Brilliant huh? I can see it now: “I’m sorry that you had to leave your job because you were being sexually harassed. No sorry, we can’t offer you any short term relief until you get back on your feet, you’re 25 years old and that means you can’t qualify for the dole. What should you do? Get a job, of course. If you can’t find one here, you will need to move to where you can get one. Well I’m sorry that would mean leaving your family and all your support systems, but you should have thought about that before you quit your job.”
Or what about: “It says here that you are 17 years old. Why aren’t you in school? Oh you were being abused at home and fell behind so you left. Well that’s a bit of a defeatist attitude isn’t it. You’ve left home too now? So why don’t you have a job? You don’t have any skills? Well we can offer you some training programs that will get you back on your feet. The next one starts in one month, but you will have to find a way to support yourself while you complete them. How will you do that? Well maybe you should think about moving back home. You are only 17 after all.”
