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Boot camp for the unemployed (Read 980 times)

mantra

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Boot camp for the unemployed
May 3^rd, 2009 at 10:10am

Rudd is implementing the largest military buildup in Australia in our history as he sees China as a potential threat to us. Could boot camp for our unemployed youth have anything to do with an impending World War III?

YOUNG unemployed people will be offered an extra $2000 in benefits inreturn for undergoing special training programs.

The Rudd government is also considering army-style "boot camp'' training as part of its Budget initiatives to prevent the young and unemployed becoming the biggest victims of the recession.

Cabinet sources yesterday confirmed to The Sunday Telegraph that the boot-camp plan had been promoted at ``the highest levels'' of the Government, but it remained unclear whether the proposal would make the final cut for inclusion in the May 12 Budget.

Only 10 days out from Budget night - and with many of its elements still in flux _ key figures in the Defence Department are fiercely resisting the idea of having responsibility for military-style training for the unemployed.

They argue it is not their core business and, if it goes ahead, the department will need extra funding for any such program.

Defence sources said that in its current form, weapons training was included _ a concept they described as unworkable.

They said the idea was being pushed amid growing concerns within the Government that youth unemployment was likely to hit politically unacceptable levels by the end of this year.

During the "recession we had to have'' in the early 1990s, youth unemployment topped out at more than 24 per cent in 1993 - sparking an emotional community debate about raising a "lost'' generation.

Although ministers broadly support the initiative, elements of the Defence Department who have been at policy war with the Government on other fronts regard the plan as a cynical exercise to artificially cut the official numbers of young jobless.

It is understood that under the proposal, jobless youth would be offered training positions with Defence for a minimum of one month and a maximum of three months, effectively cutting the headline rate of youth unemployment for that period.

The department has been formally asked to cost the program.

The leaking of the proposal from within Defence is seen as further evidence of the near-breakdown in relations between the Government and the department.

Recent allegations that the department had been spying on its own minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, sparked harsh private criticism by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd admitted publicly to tensions between the department and Mr Fitzgibbon, who is trying to push through cost-cutting measures as a part of a wider reform agenda.

But senior Government sources said that with Defence suffering from low recruitment levels, it made sense to require young job-seekers on welfare to get their training inside the military. The sources said it could be an incentive for them to subsequently join up on a full-time basis.

The Government will use the Budget to offer additional cash incentives for young unemployed people to undergo training.

It is understood extra support for Newstart and parenting-payment recipients will be announced in the form of a training supplement.

The temporary supplement of $41.60 a fortnight will be made available to current recipients of Newstart and Parenting Payments in the case of partners of Newstart beneficiaries who have children.

The supplement will be limited to people without Year 12 or the equivalent secondary-school qualifications, or those who need to undertake training to re-skill.

It means training-supplement recipients who engage in training for a period of 12 months will receive an extra $2239 in the form of the existing $950 Training and Learning Bonus announced as part of the Nation Building and Jobs plan, $208 in education entry payments and $1081 in a new fortnightly training allowance over the course of one year.

Sources said the supplement would give Australia's most vulnerable unemployed the incentive to take up training and to use their period of unemployment productively - providing the nation with a solid skill base when the economy recovers.

The measure means the Government has been able to find the money to fund both pension increases and help the unemployed - no mean feat at a time when corporate tax revenues have collapsed.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25419163-5001021,00.html

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Jim Profit

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Re: Boot camp for the unemployed
Reply #1 - May 3^rd, 2009 at 10:30am

When are countries going to learn the importance of free market military contractors?

Immagine how much more swiftly wars would go if you let private groups like Blackwater and weapon dealers solve the wars. You might think they're unrealiable, that they just go where the money is. Not if they have families and loved ones in their mothering country! People naturaly lean toward that which they grewup. We call that home!

If we relied on this private mercenary cartail, we could cut spending dramaticaly. Which would inturn, improve the economy, which inturn, would only strengthen the mercenaries loyalty to us! More importantly.. a competitive military is one more likely to get the job done faster and better! All the while not forcing anyone into fixed labor by having to join the military. Merely tempted by the good pay and glory that comes with slaying your enemies! I'd join blackwater, but not the navy or whatever!

Another reason we need mercenaries is because they are not bound by the U.N's code of ethics. They can simply do whatever they want, and we as a nation are not responsible for them...

But I still believe there's something left for you and me.

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South Bay Cities New Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 2	Re: Boot camp for the unemployed Reply #2 - May 3^rd, 2009 at 10:36am No one should be bound by the defunct UN-anything. This boot camp idea is a great one.
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mantra

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Re: Boot camp for the unemployed
Reply #3 - May 3^rd, 2009 at 11:30am

It isn't a bad idea. The unemployed youth today are bored and spend most of their time sitting around smoking dope, playing games or walking aimlessly around the streets looking for some action.

It would give them some direction, discipline and encourage them to get fit. The proposed payments of $500 a week are very encouraging, although the end result might mean death if another war is looming.

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Kytro Gold Member Offline Blasphemy: a victimless crime Posts: 3409 Adelaide Gender:	Re: Boot camp for the unemployed Reply #4 - May 15^th, 2009 at 7:15am I have no problems as long as it is no mandatory.
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hawil Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 1345	Re: Boot camp for the unemployed Reply #5 - May 2^nd, 2010 at 12:07pm Jim Profit can you be really dinkum with your comment. Youth unemployment needs to be addressed, but it has to make sense as well.
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