Officially the unemployment figure is about half a million: roughly equal to the job vacancies. Government figures, so who knows whether they are genuine or not?

But, 2.8 million wanting to do more work? So why aren't they doing it? Why are employers (so we are told - again by the government) still whining about not being able to get people to work?

More to the point, why is the same lying government intent on bringing in more migrants to add to these numbers.? How can they be so stupid?

Those questions are rhetorical of course. I know the answers. The government is too lazy to do anything else. It doesn't care about people, jobs, industry, housing etc: it just needs more people to spend, spend and spend. And if it has to pay these people enough to scrape by on, that also gives it more power over those people. And it's what the people want; they want a government that 'looks after them'. Small government, individual effort, private enterprise (except for the corporates scheming with the government) is out the door in Shitstralia.

All the stuff about wages, pensioners working is bollocks. What politicians want is a Marxist system that keeps them fat and in-charge of everything, with lots of people to keep it that way. The people themselves do not matter.

Ideological BS.

“The life of Dave in the Cherry orchard”. A new children's book.

Agree with most of this. Those on the minimum wage should have minimum skills as opposed to SFA!

The minimum wage should be paid on a minimum production output, not less. Even today some families are working out of their garages doing contract piece work. The more pieces they produce the greater the return.

Greater returns mean upgraded machinery and even greater production. The ethnic in the woodpile is the cost of energy! And means many of the self-employed are working for the energy companies and not for themselves and their families.

And we are not assisted by tin-eared pollies living in an echo chamber or armour-plated bubble!

The only advantage the self-employed have is, they decide when they stop working!
Alan B.

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Alan B,
Many bureaucrats would starve to death if they were paid according to their merit ! Alas, as it is they’re among the highest paid under the present system !

I've heard before when governments complain that there isn't enough workers in order to justify some pet action against the public interest.

In the shadow of Covid governments are causing the labour crisis- many state governments still don't allow anti-mandate people to work in the pubic service.

Many highly skilled people can't work it's not an issue about the basic wage so much- but Libertarian's will still try to push the basic wages issue (rightly or wrongly).

Remember the high school maths teacher crisis which is ongoing for about 20 years but schools are still not able to take people with maths skills but without a diploma in education. Universities seem to control the skills framework and demand labour to kiss the ring and pay the universities money in order to enter the system. Because foreigners are willing to pay the money the universities are willing to turn traitor to their own people for power.

Universities don't seem to like the apprentice system as it takes market share from Universities. More and more apprentice time is being absorbed into the tertiary system- there are other ways to ensure quality labour capabilities than to be held hostage by the self serving tertiary sector. Universities have through Communist influences become controlling rather than supporting bodies.

As Bob Whittacker said Communism is about the workers and farmers (producers) being overseen by the enlightened principles of academia.
It seems that academics might believe in Communist principles in order to feather their own nest- at the expense of the community. At least in business capitalism they take management from knowledgeable members of production as well as academia. Drawing their
members from a broader section of the community tends to suggest that the capitalist system is in a sense more democratic.

http://robertwwhitaker.net/rww/about-robert-whitaker

In free capitalism it's sometimes said that if you make money you are creating something of value because the buyers aren't forced to buy from you. Adam Smith called this "the invisible hand of the market". If you make money from creating value in the community you perhaps deserve to be rich.

James Burnham talks about Managerialism and the tendency to require certificates for everything- thereby reducing workplace mobility and increasing labour market brittleness to shock. If you add broad health certificate requirements it's not surprising when the heart of labour capacity is destroyed and consumer prices rise uncontrollably. When politicians bring in foreigners to replace locals and genocide is legislated no wonder trust in the workplace and the community is destroyed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham

Machiavelli promoted division to keep power- but knowledge is different than wisdom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince