While we have low consumer confidence, the going will be tough for some businesses. You are expecting business to carry on as normal in a global downturn. There wouldn,t be a downturn if that was the case. Don't worry about getting curtains repaired, bye a new one at half the cost. Just like shoe repairers, thin on the ground. Times will change, no matter what business you are in. If there has been 185,000 businesses close down the they must have found jobs, because they are not in the jobless figures. A good industry to be in is food, people will still eat, even without confidence.

579, What downturn ? I just saw Wayne Swann on the TV telling us how
great things are and that we are the envy of the world !
Low unemployment, everything going marvelously.

Then a little later, there was Bill the IR minister telling us things are tough. Hmmm

No wonder they can't make up their mind who should be boss.

579, you have just idenderfied the main problem, as in your own words, you admit businesses are going to do it tough for a while.

So why not workers as well?

During these tough times, businesses need flexibility, with things like, you work Sundays, get paid normal rates and receive time off mid week in lue.

For casuals, time and a half on Sundays and double time on PH and a legal surcharge, something that is currently illegal in QLD.

You see Sundays and PH are generally the best days for rests and caffees, yet, due to IR laws, many today are closing as there is simply nothing left after the extra wages.

Now while I don't know anyone who was effected by work choices, it must have been bad policy to have drawn so much bad publicity, the trouble is, the new IR laws have gone a full 180 in the other direction.

The ironic part about it all is that we had a system (in hospitality) where staff were happy, bosses were happy, but labor and the unions can't leave well enough alone.

There is a very simp,y rule in business, and that is, if it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Labor needs to learn this.

What is needed is some middle ground, and fast, otherwise it will simply be a case of to little, to late.

Now while you may not believe me, just keep watching and you will see.

The writing is well and truly on the wall.

You see in the retail meat award you can do just that.

Yet in hospitality, you can't. WHY!

I see that the US is creating jobs, whilst Australia is shedding them.

Labor claims to have helped create 750 000 new jobs, but with the unemployment rate higher than when it took office, how many jobs has labor destroyed?

Hopefully the US is in come-back mode, figures are good considering the time of year.
Butch you are going around in circles, you have a conspiracy theory, and some of what you are saying is the responsibility of the state. Why don't you campaign for bye Australian. Isn't that where any shortfalls are.

It was a stated belief of the founder of the Liberal Party ‘Pig Iron’ Bob Menzies that Australia needed a permanent pool of unemployed; he thought 10% was a desirable level. Of course any politician today who openly canvassed such would swiftly find him or herself out of office. The only difference between Menzies and today’s conservatives is, Menzies was willing to say it, and today’s conservatives only think it. What they believe is, create this pool of unemployed to use to keep a lid on wages, particularly the unskilled, while at the same time berating them for not having a job, cutting dole payments to below the accepted poverty level to ‘force’ the unemployed into a nonexistent job. To reinforce their argument the conservatives will point to the malingerers within the system. No matter what, within the unemployed we are always going to have the unemployable and the downright lazy can’t be avoided.
p/s I personally have been gainfully employed for the past 40 years.