SA welfare recipients among nation’s laziest when it comes to attending job interviews
SOUTH Australian welfare recipients are among the laziest in the nation in one particular area — but it could come back to bite them.
SOUTH Australian welfare recipients are among the laziest in the nation when it comes to showing up to job interviews, new data reveals.
But their lethargy could soon lead to them being stripped of Government handouts, under tough new measures likely to be unveiled in the upcoming Federal Budget.
The Employment Department figures show SA accounted for 9 per cent of Australia’s welfare slackers despite the state being home to only 7 per cent of the nation’s population.
Of more than 33,000 people who told Centrelink they could not be bothered turning up, almost 3000 were from SA. The SA welfare recipients failed to attend more than 8000 interviews in which the stated reason was “job seeker chose not to participate”.
Despite the interview being a requirement to earn a Government handout, only about 1 per cent of no-showers faced a financial penalty.
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said there was a certain proportion of job seekers “taking the taxpayer for a ride”.
“On the face of it, we have some pretty tough penalties in place but Labor introduced a waiver mechanism when they were in Government which effectively allowed people to avoid facing any financial penalty simply by ringing up and agreeing to re-engage in an activity,” he said.
Mr Tudge recognised some people had “serious issues going on in their lives” which may prevent them from searching for work. He said the Government wanted to identify them earlier and offer support.
But he said those “who are just skirting the system” should be expected to search for work, show up to interviews and accept job offers or face financial penalties.
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher said: “We are naturally a bit suspicious about this Government when it comes to some of their attempts to demonise and attack those who rely on welfare and Social Security support.”