Sophie, you don't tell us how much money your 'man' makes, but I'm willing to stick my neck out and suggest that it's well into six figures, and considerably more than I've ever made as a freelancer. If I'm wrong you can correct me, but otherwise you'll forgive me if I withhold my sympathy. I'm getting just a little sick of people who hold down well-paid jobs in comfortable offices with paid holidays, fringe benefits and company perks telling me how terrible their lives are.

Yes, highly paid work is sometimes awful. That's why it's highly paid. If your 'man' wants to take an 80% pay cut and do something easy and rewarding instead, then good luck to him; otherwise he (and you) will just have to put up with the ghastly burden of earning his salary.

Well Sophie, love If KRuddy wins the election, your problems will all be over. There will be stuff all mining industry for your bloke to fly into, in the very near future.

You'll have him home all day every day, which will probably prove even harder to live with.

How do you think you'd manage on the dole?

Please note, readers, my husband does NOT (and never will) work in the mining industry. He is an electrician and solar installer as well as licensed builder and because there is no, or very little, work in regional areas he has to travel to where the work is. he doesn't earn 6 figures (I wish) and he doesn't have paid annual leave, super, maternity or paternity leave or any of the other government subsidies, because he works for himself as a sub contractor. There is a work shortage out there in the real world - that is the point!

You should have been clearer in your article Sophie, & we would have known.

Whose choice was it?

I too had 15 months of a 375 Km commute but it was my ladies choice. I was quite happy with the smaller income I was earning, but when I was head hunted, she wanted me to go. God I hated that drive into the city leaving home at 3.30Am.

I also hated living in a campervan all week. I could not know how long it would take to sell up, & therefore could not sign a lease for a unit, due to high exit fees if the sale came quickly.

At least it cured me of any fool idea that circumnavigating Oz in such a vehicle would be a fun retirement activity.

So yes Sophie, life can get hard at times, but fortunately in Oz, it is usually that way because of the choices we have made for ourselves. Perhaps we do still live in the lucky country.

Sophie,
As a subcontractor myself I understand what you're going through, I had three months with no work this year so far and though it's picked up a little bit I've been home at least two days in most weeks.
Hasbeen,
The dole, ha! My wife is also a subcontractor and between us we get a total of ZERO in financial aid from the state, we get the low income tax break but that's all. Know what the woman at Centrelink said to my wife? "Welfare really isn't for people like you", so even though we're classified as low income we can't claim education allowance or Family Tax benefits.

Jon J,
Contrary to the lies put about regarding the income of tradesmen the average yearly income is about $50,000, not "six figures".
Yes it's true Unionised workers get high wages but most of us are honest people and refuse to go along with the gangsters, bikies and sundry thugs who run the CFMEU and other trade unions. Furthermore as Sophie pints out, we get no benefits unless we budget for them ourselves, so I have no super,no life insurance or income protection, no equity in my home and as a family we've had a total of four days holiday together since my eldest was born in 1999, if you add in our two week honeymoon my wife and I have had 18 days holiday in 24 years together. There's a reason nobody wants to go into the trades, it's crap money, no benefits and if the economy is in a hole, as it is now, too bad Jack, nobody is going to help you.