Rudd's Crackdown on welfare for under 20's

[ClairBear]

Rudd's crackdown on welfare for under 20s | Business | News.com.au

PEOPLE aged under 20 who are not working, studying or training will lose the Youth Allowance under a goverment push to set the nation up for a strong recovery from the ongoing recession.

The tighter eligibility standards on the Youth Allowance will also apply to Family Tax Benefit Part A, meaning the parents of young people who are not at school or in training will no longer be eligible for the benefit.


This should be interesting. What do you think about the proposal?

[cr212]

thats the government trying to make up for all those stimulus packages being handed out

[stocky]

encourage more younger people not to bother studying, but to drop out and get a low paying job instead. why dont they scrap the baby bonus for dole bludgers before getting rid of something that benefits students trying to study.

edit - reread it. still applies to people studying. makes sense. i thought youth allowance was for people studying only

[Scooter79]

I can kind of agree with that. I'd like to see the detail and conditions but it seems fair enough.

I noticed the article also mentions high school retention (raising the minimum school leavers age to 17). Well as a high school teacher myself I can give a few insights... This is supposed to be implemented and active as of January 1 next year. However as of this moment it still has not even been legislated. The state governments are waiting for the federal government to do it and visa versa. No one wants to touch it. On top of that there's no mention of increased funding to deal with this 'supposedly' increase in the number of students per school.

Rudd's ideas are just that. Ideas! He NEVER thinks anything through. He doesn't plan and never thinks about how something will be done. Kind of like expecting a five star, three course restaurant quality meal on an RAAF plane when you forget to hire the chef!

[ClairBear]

This proposal can be looked at from a couple of angles.

Firstly those Youth on an allowance who live at home, do not have their payments activity tested, which means they do not have to comply with job searching requirements. This encourages some youth who are not motivated to find employment to begin a lifestyle of dole bludging. Either taking the payment away or making it activity tested would push a portion of these Youth to find jobs. However those who have been forced out of home by parent's who no longer want them around for whatever reason, will be in dire straights if there is no welfare payments available to them.

Secondly there is a concern that if you remove the Youth payment, the rebellious ones will turn to crime rather than find work or further study.

Lastly you have to wonder if there will be enough work or study places for all these Youth if the payments stop. Currently a Youth who leaves school at 18 and is genuinely looking for employment can at least have a few dollars for clothes and bus fares if living at home, till he/she sources employment.

[greenfoam]

So long as theres enough affordable schooling for everyone in every location in the Country it's no problem. Can they get the all local TAFES that good remains to be seen . Alot of people are going to be without a job for at least the next two years and uni is going to be too expensive and hard to get a spot in for most people so there's going to have to be a pretty big upgrade in other schools to fit everyone in. Until the economy gets better (doubtful it ever will) but we will see about that too . Exciting times. As for article itself having left school during the last recession I can see his point. Yes I could have moved to the city but my choice of staying here ultimately cost me a couple million bucks over the long term compared to my friends that did leave to more prosperous areas. If there were a uni here or something for those of us that stayed in the country jobless it would have been much better.

Still to this day there are 100s of 35-40 year olds around here that never did get anywhere when they left school during the 60% school leaver unemployment that was 1990-1992 in country areas. By the time things came good the current school leavers were able to slot into the new jobs but those from a few years before were very much a lost generation. That kind of thing hasn't been seen since then and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. So hopefully they can work something out

[nicko]

Seems like a good idea. Although i dont think ANYONE should get welfare: LOL

[Goon]

It's abouttime, some bludgers dont do sht casue they can get cash from welfare..and half the time they just write any jobs they have chassed from the phonebook and centerlink doesnt even check... i know ive seen a few mates do this in the past when i was onced used for a taxi lol!!! smart ass ppl lol

[greenfoam]

^ Take a trip to the USA and spend some time walking the city streets if you have the balls for it rather than hiding away in some hotel and you will soon see why welfare is the one and only reason the UK and Australia are safer and better places to live. It's VERY important. In almost any major US city, walk around in the night and the vast majority of people are

A. Homeless.
B Drug dealers.
C Crazy.
D All of the Above

I've done the walk quite a few times in different cities, it's enlightening to say the least. You would be suprised how many US citizens just don't know about it because there are areas they just wont go to. I felt much less safe there than I did in the most dodgy areas I could possibly find in Mexico and I was really looking so I got an idea of the inner core of each place I went to. But yeah Australia is safe x 1000 and that's about the only the reason why you are all living in peace and don't need bars on your windows, 10 deadlocks on your doors and a security team gaurding the entrance to your private razor wire fenced suburb. That's normal reality in the richer areas of Mexico because there's plenty of people with nothing and no way to survive other than stealing your stuff, deperate people can and will do desperate things

[Reaper]

Sounds like a variation on the Howard governments "mutual obligation" scheme for the dole. I think it should be extended.

Reaper

[Jesterarts]

First thing that Kevin Rudd has proposed that I agree with...

Youth Allowance should be insentive for youth people to get a higher education and become positive contributers to society...

Not free money for sitting around making no effort.

Same as with the dole... make an effort to do something of no money.

I don't understand why those of us who work hard and pay taxes are giving others a free ride in life...

I don't get why I have to give up one thord of my earnings being a contributing member of society while others get money for just existing...

[cxcxcxvcvcvc]

I think its a good idea, get some of the younger generation into tafe or work, it only gets harder as you get older.

[minux]

I dont get it, Kevin Rudd was against the work for the dole scheme, but wants to bring this in? This leader is nothing but an idiot. I would be fairly certain the under 20's would be a fair minority of the welfare collectors. Perhaps its time to target these deadbeats who are unemployed longer than 3 months without any real reason why except for being job snobs.

[MasterOfReality]

I dont get it, Kevin Rudd was against the work for the dole scheme, but wants to bring this in? This leader is nothing but an idiot. I would be fairly certain the under 20's would be a fair minority of the welfare collectors. Perhaps its time to target these deadbeats who are unemployed longer than 3 months without any real reason why except for being job snobs.

Didn't Peter Garret say something along the lines of changing it all when they get in?

I don't mind the proposal myself as I think if you are not studying or training then you should be working.

On the other hand I just read on the Australian website that they are softening their stance on single parents....

Softer budget line on sole parents | The Australian

I think its a smokescreen to make them look good in light of the coming budget.

[Hunter SS]

it's a great idea!! make them "earn" the money... study isn't such a bad option.... if you don't want to study, get out and get a job. Simple really

[Tom_1569]

i thought youth allowance was for people studying only

So did I, if they get rid of financial assistance for people trying to study then thats stupid.

If its only for people not working or studying, then Im not sure if this is worse then agreeing commsirac or not, but I agree with Rudd. Should stop alot of these dropouts who sit around smoking cones, or sit in the local malls carving there name and pussy gang names into tables.

[Scooter79]

I had to laugh. On the news yesterday they asked a girl on the beach what she thought of the idea and her reply was "It's not fair. We should be given a choice". WTF?!? A choice whether to get money for nothing or actually work like the rest of us?

[danja]

I had to laugh. On the news yesterday they asked a girl on the beach what she thought of the idea and her reply was "It's not fair. We should be given a choice". WTF?!? A choice whether to get money for nothing or actually work like the rest of us?

Wasn't ACA by any chance?

She has a choice! Work, or study!

[minux]

it's a great idea!! make them "earn" the money... study isn't such a bad option.... if you don't want to study, get out and get a job. Simple really

A great idea would be making it the same across the entire age groups. There are so many people out there now who have been on the dole for years. Make the lazy ****s earn it or take it away.

[danja]

A great idea would be making it the same across the entire age groups. There are so many people out there now who have been on the dole for years. Make the lazy ****s earn it or take it away.

I agree with you, no free rides - but some of those people certainly fall into the "unemployable" category, and are very hard to integrate back into the workplace. As the saying goes "get 'em while they're young!". It's easy pickings.

[minux]

I agree with you, no free rides - but some of those people certainly fall into the "unemployable" category, and are very hard to integrate back into the workplace. As the saying goes "get 'em while they're young!". It's easy pickings.

So use them as target practice or something, if they are no use to society now and are being paid to do nothing, may as well get SOME use out of them.

[danja]

So use them as target practice or something, if they are no use to society now and are being paid to do nothing, may as well get SOME use out of them.

Soylent Green?

[mrhotdog]

Firstly those Youth on an allowance who live at home, do not have their payments activity tested, which means they do not have to comply with job searching requirements. This encourages some youth who are not motivated to find employment to begin a lifestyle of dole bludging. Either taking the payment away or making it activity tested would push a portion of these Youth to find jobs. However those who have been forced out of home by parent's who no longer want them around for whatever reason, will be in dire straights if there is no welfare payments available to them.

im pretty sure u only get youth allowance if u are studying whats considered a full time load ie high school or at least 75% of a uni full time load. i should know, i get it , it is activity tested and MEANS tested. family tax benefit a&b are the ones that arent activity tested im pretty sure, and im all for people getting nothing if they do nothing..

[ClairBear]

im pretty sure u only get youth allowance if u are studying whats considered a full time load ie high school or at least 75% of a uni full time load.

I am pretty sure you are wrong.

I work in Job Network, therefore I know who gets what payments etc. and if they are activity tested or not. You do not have to be studying to get Youth Allowance. We have a large number of youth on our caseload on Youth Allowance who sleep the days away and won't come into appointments and refuse or stuff up jobs they are referred to. Sadly most play the system well and know how to get out of being breeched.

If you live at home it is generally not activity tested but if you live away from home it is. You are paid Youth Allowance until you turn 21, then you are put onto New Start Allowance.

[minux]

Eligibility for Youth Allowance