@laura__palmer I’m not referring to anecdotes.  Like I’ve already said, I don’t think that the number of jobs advertised on seek.com is an accurate count of available jobs. Surely journalists are able to use the more sophisticated economic metrics available.  

@laura__palmer I accept that as per our previous conversation and is why I do support a permanent increase in jobseeker (or whatever it’s original name was).  I’ve been trying to point out though that there might be some consequences to doing this.  I guess the fundamental disagreement we have is about the metrics of how unemployment is measured (I just don’t agree with the statement “there are no jobs” - I think the situation is more complex than that). In any case, thank you for your thoughtful responses.

@david s My husband and I have talked about this a lot.  Full credit to him (and me!), we do share life’s workload equitably - paid and unpaid. It’s just that I’ve had significant health issues over the years, one of our children has autism and work has been volatile for both of us.  Normal life stuff, no one’s fault, but sometimes I’ve wondered if I’m ever going to have the energy to do anything interesting  ever again. We are in the process of changing things up to make life better for the both of us but there are a LOT of balls in the air!

@iknowitsserious I love my kids immeasurably but I never anticipated how difficult it would be.  I’m glad women are starting to be able to be honest about it.

@cat I think the large number of replies I’ve made in this thread to a variety of people makes it clear that I’m very comfortable having my assertions challenged - it is the fundamental purpose of participating in such a forum.  In answer to your questions:

@laura__palmer I agree with your last point, but I have seen people be precious with all sorts of unglamorous work and I do think that it’s happening at the moment as well.  Sometimes it’s not about getting ahead, it’s about getting by.  There are two facts that are simultaneously true: (1) the jobseeker rates should be permanently raised and (2) there ARE jobs to be had even in this current economy (which goes against the premise of this article).

@cat you have completely missed the point snorks and I were making. I think that maybe the nuance of this conversation is beyond the format of a back-and-forth forum.

@cat there’s no need to be snarky, everybody else in this thread is managing a civil and productive conversation.

@laura__palmer I agree with you about TAFE. Another problem is that you can only access fee HELP (used to be HECS? I’m old 😂) for qualifications higher than what you attained previously. Eg. if you used it to do a diploma/degree qualification, you can’t access it again to do a certificate level qual, even in a completely different area. This is a huge barrier to retraining. Having said that, people need to not be precious. I have lived in a city that has had above national unemployment for a long time (Townsville) and a lack of jobs was not the only (or even major) contributor to the problem.  

@laura__palmer that’s fine, I couldn’t be a waitress (terrible coordination!) but that’s different to saying that there are no jobs to be had. I’d like to see more support for people to retrain and hold multiple skill sets so they are better able to move around employment as things in the economy change. 

@cat sorry, should have clarified: consistently had issues SINCE jobseeker rates were raised. And having been in the industry for more than six years, this particular work situation is pretty awesome.  I actually support a permanent raise in job seeker payments but to think that it won’t affect some people’s motivation is naive.  It’s a difficult issue.

@snorks agreed. And not every available job is advertised on Seek, so I don’t know why that’s being used as a metric.  I work in disability support (so WELL above min wage rates) and we have consistently had trouble recruiting people into the team. It’s a good wicket but a lot of people don’t want to play the game... I think that jobseeker should increase permanently but there is no doubt that the current rate is causing some problems.

@snorks Incredibly expensive for parents (as a proportion of income) and undervalued by society at large (which is why parents pick up more of the expense). Many countries subsidise early childhood education to a much greater degree than Australia does.  The age old dilemma of a capitalist economy: what do we do with something that is important to society - like early education - but isn’t economically productive?

Not making excuses for anyone - of course you should call 000 if you suspect someone is in danger - but I have had the experience of calling emergency services to report a woman being assaulted and the operator not accepting the report until I gave my full name and phone number. I was out and the couple I was calling about were strangers so there was no chance of reprisal but I can understand the reluctance if there was. Doesn’t make it right but I can understand it. There are many barriers.