Abbott says yes
how about that
No more dole, Tony Abbott warns the under-30s | News.com.auNo more dole, Tony Abbott warns the under-30s
TONY Abbott has proposed banning the dole for young people in a bid to fill the massive skills shortages in the resources sector.
He said that cutting dole payments to people aged under 30 would take pressure off the welfare system and reduce the need to bring in large numbers of skilled migrants to staff mining projects in Western Australia and Queensland.
But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd lambasted Tony Abbott's idea as "policy making on the run".
"I just think it's time Mr Abbott had some sort of work on these sorts of questions," Mr Rudd said.
Mr Abbott told the business leaders that safety mechanisms would be needed under such a scheme to protect disabled people or those with mental health problems.
And he raised the possibility that employers would need to be given funding to train the unemployed, according to those present.
Some of the business leaders were surprised by the remarks, while others were impressed Mr Abbott was considering new measures to address the labour shortages in Western Australia that threaten to crimp the next resources boom.
"I thought to myself: here is a guy who thinks outside the square," said one participant.
The Minerals Council of Australia said the number of workers in the resources sector would need to grow by about 86,000 in the next decade to maintain Australia's share of global minerals markets.
It said 31,000 of those workers would need to be skilled tradespeople.
The demand for labour is expected to be most severe in Western Australia, which has about $200 billion in resources projects either under way or in the pipeline.
how about that