Complete rubbish, individual.

For a start, you haven't specified what you mean by "National Service". You say that your suggestion isn't restricted to military service, like the last experience Australia had of national service (i.e. conscription to fight a pointless war on behalf of someone else). However, you don't provide any details of what you envisage as 'national service', beyond vague muttering about young people doing unpleasant stuff they dion't want to do.

What sort of work do you have in mind? Have you taken into account that it's probably work that people are already paid to do - and if so, what becomes of them?

What do you mean by "a working background 'expert'" anyway? If you think that academics don't work, you obviously know nothing about their jobs and the conditions under which they work. If you mean uneducated and disgruntled manual workers like yourself, perhaps the lack of any detail for implementing your vague ideas might be a clue as to why they aren't taken up.

Get real, mate. Australia is a much bigger and more complex society than you apparently experience in your daily life - and very, very few Australians would support the reintroduction of 'national service', particularly in the unspecified form that you have so far provided.

CJ Morgan,
why bother ah, never mind.

We are all flaming worried about our future taxes are we not? Mmmm....gather you and Hazza do not have much time for the concept of youth acquiring 'life AND SURVIVAL skills' CJ.

For the young people of 16-18 yrs who already take ownership of their lives; they would not have anything to be concerned about if National Service is introduced and implemented during a short period of time. Ditto for those young people between 16-18yrs who are sensible and responsible.

There would be far more positives than negatives, learning many life skills via a National Service program as opposed to 16-18 year olds who have not been taught life or survival skills ie bush cooking, bush first aid, bush medical care [including improvisations with lack of resources]. Knowledge is power for Australian kids and for the wider community, some of these my 15 yr old on the farm has learned and teaching his mates. Who knows? One little life or survival skill may save his mates' lives travelling overseas or here one day.

How many 16-18 yr olds know the safest and healthiest ways to survive in the mountains when lost for a week? How many kids know where and how to forage for food when lost? How to cook with limited resources? How to find fresh water?

Many kids did not attend scouts or have the opportunity to learn 'basic' skills that Australian adults likewise have not acquired.

How many teachers annually take kids into mountains, become lost, develop hypothermia, become dehydrated, disoriented, lose a few students, as a result of not knowing life survival skills AND not preparing for mountain treks using common sense or 'thinking' ahead for common 'what if' outcomes of those trips.

Many of these mental health illnesses common in young people would be assisted also, by addressing self esteem issues, that alone would save all of the worried little taxpayers a few dollars down the track.

Sorry WAU, that hardly justifies NS at all.

So, people that don't need NS, who might have been able to plan their lives, must instead put it aside so they can learn bush-tucker skills in the off chance that they might decide to go trekking deep into the outback? And this is supposed to translate into employment outlook by....

This might come as a big shock but most people- especially city dwellers, would never be in a situation to rely on those skills- even if there were a wartime draft (when they could learn then), as much as many people inland would not be put in a situation where they would need to know how to swim in oceanic currents in the off-chance they would be stationed in the Navy (ignoring the fact that the navy would most likely demand extensive existing experience with oceanic swimming- not to mention boating).

Not to mention learning a trade and consulting municipal services is just as much a life skill as finding food and conserving energy out in the wild.

I'm starting to think that the social decay that needs to be sorted out is actually just disgust at urbanite incompetency at survival skills.

And I'm not sure why you started bringing up taxes- as CJ and myself are more concerned about rights and liberty, as we have both repeatedly explained.

This is my second post King Hazza; an addition to my first comments part of which are:

Benefits of 'self discipline', 'ownership issues', responsibility for one's own self and actions, self-esteem raised, nothing but positives for Aussie teens.

Raising self esteem in many young people via a National Service program may well assist also in a downturn of mental health issues [in young people]was an extension of my first posting.

Bush tucker aspect was the least important reason outlined.

Every one is interested in where their taxes are going; some more than most. Some a bit precious about those coffers going back into young people; our future generation.

Disgust at urbanites? No King Hazza I mix with urbanites daily during my work and non-voluntary work, live and have lived in all dwellings. You may be surprised if you could see where my bum is now parked.

Liberties?

If the National Service program is ever put together and trialled effectively, I would be most interested in seeing a poll conducted on the numbers of 15-18 year olds who would readily agree with National Service if introduced as a short period and a one-off.

You may be surprised at the positive reaction for direction and eagerness in knowing that their self esteem will be raised after the completion of a National Service program.

Should read voluntary work; not 'non-voluntary' work [most of which is with 'young people 15-22yrs]!