Hear, hear!

What else can I say?

Very good. Would it be possible for apprentices to get further through their training (and be more employable) at TAFE? At the moment, few employers want to take the trouble of employing an apprentice and generally will only do so for a mate/relative/team-mate etc.

Tip for any unemployed person (disabled or otherwise) being stuffed around by Centrelink, ATO or any other Commonwealth agency: Make it clear that if the Commonwealth takes you to court (and maybe even if it doesn't), you will seek compensation for loss of job opportunities caused by employers' obligation to collect GST and PAYE tax at their own expense, in contravention of s.82 of the Constitution, which states that tax collection costs are the responsibility of the Commonwealth: http://is.gd/grp_s82 .

maybe the real bludgers are the systemic blockages to customise access to work and benefits, because not enough attention is paid to that sort of thing by fat cat highranking public servants who are more interested in promoting their own careers and ignoring the real needs of the frustrated 'clients' they are really meant to serve...

The very real problem in the present times is the trend to privatisation of former government entities such as: railways, electricity, gas, water,public transport, public works, all government owned enterprises usually then run on a not for profit basis. All these entities under government control employed large numbers of well trained apprentices and disabled persons. With privatisation these apprentice and disabled numbers were greatly reduced in a bid to increase profits, consequently by far the largest employer of apprentices suddenly just was'nt there anymore. The hidden results of this privatisation policy, as a consequence, is the nationwide lack of experienced tradesmen & apprenticeships. No government sponsered training programmes or throwing money at employers to train would be apprentices will ever compensate for the privatisation of these former government owned workshops.

This article should be compulsory reading for everyone working in employment agencies, government departments and all politicians.