Australia's Unemployed and the Lack of Motivation to Change

Getting Motivated - The Professional Unemployed in Australia.

It's a disease spreading among our young and hitting people of all ages. The loss of the ability to get motivated, which is driving many into depression and even suicide, is the tip of the iceberg. It is a problem we must deal with. Who is to blame? Society and governments have a lot to answer for and so do parents and teachers. Can we reverse the trend? That is like asking can we stop human behaviour and change the world.

This problem became obvious when looking at the many that just cannot get away from the entertainment that hammers them daily. Television; computer games; gambling, drugs; alcohol; easy living; the good life; and lack of exercise are all up there as primary causes. Another is the lack of a will to work or even for society to force some people to change their habits.

When I was in business and employing workers in different aspects of it during the 1980's the Australian Federal government brought in the dole. This was done to enable those who could not get a job to survive until their circumstances improved and they landed one. At that time there were very few unemployed in this country.

From that moment on, however, things changed and workers disappeared off the radar. Ad after ad for staff failed to produce anyone suitable for employment. It was like something major had happened to change the minds of our young people in general and that of the public in particular. With the ads came heaps of people who pretended to seek work but they were fraudulently cheating the government and taxpayer.

In order to get the dole they had to fill in a form listing the places they had sought work in the last fortnight. So they joined the queues to discover what businesses were about. That gave them names to list on their sheet in order to get more money the following fortnight.

When they did turn up for interviews they came dressed in rags, men carried handbags, and women looked disgusting. They talked funny and made sure they would not suit anyone who might give them a second look let alone a job.

My business went downhill and after spending hundreds of dollars trying to get staff it eventually failed. Other business managers had the same problem. The people who became employed, thanks to the kind heart of someone, tried desperately to get the sack so they could reapply for the dole. One woman hired by me to work in my shop smashed things, stole goods and was impossible to train. She had to go after just a couple of days.

This week it has come to light that an agricultural town in Southern New South Wales, and the heart of the agricultural producers, has several hundred unemployed people living within it and all collect the dole. Meanwhile the farmers have to employ staff from overseas on a casual basis to do jobs such as picking fruit. The average worker can earn $1000 a week at this.

There is no motivation for people to get a job or to work while they can bludge on the government, collect their money and spend days at a time on the beach. In fact soon after the dole was introduced a town in the north of New South Wales was inundated with so-called Hippies. They set up a tent city, bought land to dwell on and raised their kids there as in a commune. Nearby is one of the best beaches in Australia, so where is the incentive to work?

With so many unemployed and unemployable they are now a massive problem for everyone. Governments are reluctant to cancel the dole for political reasons. Parents are putting up with their adult kids living at home. Young teenagers are having children and being paid for it. The shift in the numbers living in poverty and that of the homeless is enormous.

There is no incentive or motivation by anyone in this country to call a halt to the stupidity that is driving it. We need workers, educated professionals and sensible people as our population and right now this is mainly coming from overseas. We are importing doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, people to work in the mining industry, dentists, and so on as so many of our young people sit mainly on their backsides and simply fail to make the grade.