Jobs Are Needed In Regional Australia To Stop Disenfranchised From Siding With Extremist Groups

The government is being urged to intervene in regional communities to create jobs, in fear that lackluster opportunities are fueling support for fringe political groups.

Patrick McClure, the chief architect behind a major review of Australia’s welfare system, has called for a complete overhaul of payment systems and a new approach to reducing long-term dole dependence. The key, he says, is creating jobs.

Speaking to The Guardian, McClure said the government needs to do some heavy lifting in order to stimulate job opportunities in floundering regional economies. In such areas, welfare is the only option for some.

“In a lot of those regional areas, corporates may have foreclosed, manufacturing plants may have closed down,” he said. “It really does need intervention, it’s not enough to say let the market play out.”

McClure warned failing to promote job growth would cause dissatisfaction with government, which is driving support for figures such as Pauline Hanson and other extreme, political groups in Australia. The same can be seen mirrored in the US, with Donald Trump, and Britain, with Brexit.

He identified a few ways in which the government can look to rebuild regional Australia, including interventions to stimulate micro-business, social enterprise and cooperatives.

McClure says it’s unfair to brand mature-aged welfare recipients as ‘dole bludgers’ if there literally are no jobs available for them. "[When] it’s mature-aged people that actually want a job, and have families to support, it’s a bit unfair to say that if there’s no job opportunities for them to go to.”

He does note, however, that young people who’ve chosen welfare payments as a “lifestyle choice” can appropriately be called a ‘dole bludger’.

In Australia, there are 20 different income support payment types and 55 supplementary payments.

McClure recommends reducing the number of welfare strands to just five: a supported living pension, the aged pension, a means-tested payment for carers, a tiered working-age payment and a child and youth payment.

Whether or not his recommendations will be taken on board will depend on Senate support.

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