Tuesday, January 11, 2005
OUR POPULISM STYLE GOVERNMENT
This Government of ours, Mr Howard et al… has a lot to answer for, in today Age newspaper there were three big stories on the Unemployed, and what we get them to do for their $30/day is unbelievable.
Take this:
“Record numbers of young Victorians have started work-for-the-dole projects.Federal Workplace Participation Minister Peter Dutton said yesterday 9610 Victorians had begun projects this financial year, up nearly 2000 on last financial year.Australia-wide, numbers are up 13 per cent, to 40,167. About 85,000 people are expected to participate this financial year, compared with more than 74,000 last year.”
REF:http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/More-working-for-the-dole/2005/01/10/1105206048735.html
And this extract from Simon Castles article “How not to get people into jobs” – Age 11 Jan 2005.
“Work for the dole is a flawed and cynical program. A piece of populism masked as policy. A cruel hoax played on unemployed youth by a comfortable generation of politicians more concerned with winning the support of taxpayers than with doing anything to help the jobless. It is an odious exercise in creating scapegoats. A program designed purely to appeal to us, the employed, which fails even in its limited aims to help those without work. I could go on.”
“Sure, occasionally the Government will make a big song and dance about some work-for-the-dole project that could at least loosely be described as interesting and challenging. Call it the anomaly that heads the media release. But to read down the list of work-for-the-dole projects on the Government's website is indicative, and almost funny if it wasn't so distressing. Certain words and phrases keep jumping out: gardening, revegetation projects, weed eradication, grounds maintenance, improving the environment. Who would have thought there were so many ways to describe weeding?”
REF:http://www.theage.com.au/news/Opinion/How-not-to-get-people-into-jobs/2005/01/10/1105206046029.html
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This Government of ours, Mr Howard et al… has a lot to answer for, in today Age newspaper there were three big stories on the Unemployed, and what we get them to do for their $30/day is unbelievable.
Take this:
“Record numbers of young Victorians have started work-for-the-dole projects.Federal Workplace Participation Minister Peter Dutton said yesterday 9610 Victorians had begun projects this financial year, up nearly 2000 on last financial year.Australia-wide, numbers are up 13 per cent, to 40,167. About 85,000 people are expected to participate this financial year, compared with more than 74,000 last year.”
REF:http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/More-working-for-the-dole/2005/01/10/1105206048735.html
And this extract from Simon Castles article “How not to get people into jobs” – Age 11 Jan 2005.
“Work for the dole is a flawed and cynical program. A piece of populism masked as policy. A cruel hoax played on unemployed youth by a comfortable generation of politicians more concerned with winning the support of taxpayers than with doing anything to help the jobless. It is an odious exercise in creating scapegoats. A program designed purely to appeal to us, the employed, which fails even in its limited aims to help those without work. I could go on.”
“Sure, occasionally the Government will make a big song and dance about some work-for-the-dole project that could at least loosely be described as interesting and challenging. Call it the anomaly that heads the media release. But to read down the list of work-for-the-dole projects on the Government's website is indicative, and almost funny if it wasn't so distressing. Certain words and phrases keep jumping out: gardening, revegetation projects, weed eradication, grounds maintenance, improving the environment. Who would have thought there were so many ways to describe weeding?”
REF:http://www.theage.com.au/news/Opinion/How-not-to-get-people-into-jobs/2005/01/10/1105206046029.html
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