Has Noel Pearson had anything to say about this?

No, I don't think he has.

Last I saw him he was flogging himself with a Liberal party birch stick reading Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" and chanting something about trying to rid himself of a dependency on government consultancy fees.

It was a sorry sight to behold.

I moved quietly on and had nice cold beer and a steak sandwich in a pub down the road.

Rainier,

Thanks.

I actually thought that Pearson had some worhtwhile things to say about 6 to 8 years ago, but, had I realised that he was so soon after to become a paid consultant for the Howard government I would have treated his ideas with more scepticism.

Not sure what the solution is. Perhaps, some of Pearson's past ideas might just work, but I would be wary of 'solutions' which save on welfare spending but give nothing back.

I have had van Hayek thrust doan my throat many times on various forum discussions. He's regarded as a kind of saint of the neoliberal movement with a passionate belief that his ideas would liberate humankind, but I think George Monbiot was closer to the mark. See "How Did We Get Into This Mess?" at http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/08/28/how-did-we-get-into-this-mess

"Their purpose was to develop the ideas and the language which would mask the real intent of the programme – the restoration of the power of the elite - and package it as a proposal for the betterment of humankind."

BTW, it was put to me by a sociologist friend Sheila Newman (http://candobetter.org/sheila) that in 18th century England, people who had been driven off their land faced problems with incest, similar to those faced by some aboriginal communities today.