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Last updated on July 2nd, 2017 at 07:23 am
Tim Flannery mostly kept quiet about immigration and population issues during his year as Prime Australian, but now he’s off the leash again:
“Why is it you would want to bring in more people when there are chronic unemployment problems in parts of Adelaide which must be addressed … “ said Prof Flannery, the 2007 Australian of the Year and former SA Museum director.
“In my view there should be more emphasis on helping those who are already there in the state than just bringing more people in.”
We keep bringing in more immigrants … yet the unemployment rate keeps falling! That might tell you something about work demand in Australia. And the willingness or ability to work of those described as “chronically unemployed”; at this point, given the economy’s strength, these people are unemployable. (Bad news for Flannery: immigration is only going to increase.) More from the Australian of Last Year:
There’s a certain perversity in teaching about the dangers of climate change in classrooms lit and powered by the wasteful burning of the very fossil fuel that is causing the problem.
Flannery may have come up with that line while flying overseas to talk about the wasteful burning of fossil fuels.
UPDATE. Plenty of jobs going.
Tim it is unwise for you to keep harping on about the way eco-activists keep burning fuel on their frequent overseas trips. If they accidentally recognise their own hypocrisy, they may stay in Australia full-time.
Posted by Machiavellian on 2008 02 29 at 10:18 AM • permalink
What amazes me is that the Democrat candidates here in the US harp about the importance of forcing the rest of us to be “Green” while planning to spend time in both Ohio and Texas next Tuesday…
Um, guys, could ya maybe stop and reflect for a moment?
Posted by Rob Crawford on 2008 02 29 at 10:23 AM • permalink
If there are more people in Australia, then there are more people buying shit which means more people have to grow shit, build shit, sell shit, and manage shit.
I learned that in macroeconomics…the law of supply shit and demand shit….. which of course comes from wanting shit.
Posted by Old Tanker on 2008 02 29 at 12:08 PM • permalink
That takes intellect and courage, Rob. Remember who you’re talking about.
You’re right; I forgot I was talking about the Queen and the Pander Bear.
Posted by Rob Crawford on 2008 02 29 at 01:37 PM • permalink
Tim Flannery is just being honest when he talks about population restrictions.
In contrast, the all-things-to-all-people Greens Party website blathers on about sustainable population (no targets though!) AND unrestricted immigration.
Posted by The Mongrel on 2008 02 29 at 06:04 PM • permalink
- Tim Flannery has Madonna syndrome, which is the need to be ever more outrageous in the pursuit of publicity. Madonna’s pursuit of attention hit its peak in 1992 with her book
Sex. How long before Flannery releases a book containing pictures of himself naked and performing simulated sex on a variety of animals and objects?
#10 Barrie. Mate I’m very sceptical about that. The highest qualification I’ve ever held is a drivers license and I’ve never been unemployed in my life when I didn’t want to be. They haven’t always been glamorous jobs for sure but if you are serious there is work galore.
These days I work in a job where I’m supposed to have a degree. My experience, which I got from being willing to lower my expectations, work hard and learn new skills on my own time, have allowed me to overcome this problem.
Remember Barrie, one of the main pillars of being a RWDB is that the world doesn’t owe you a living. Having a qualification or two doesn’t mean that the world even needs your particular skill. Sometimes we have to be adaptable and flexible. If you can’t find a job in Australia you are simply not looking hard enough or you’re being unrealistic in your expectations.
#10. While we’re on the subject…
In this wonderful country we live in you are free to start your own business if you truly have a problem with “ageism”. If your qualifications and skills have genuine demand, then don’t even bother finding a job. Employ yourself!
Aah, the joys of Capitalism know no bounds!
#10 Barrie. Unfortunately I know very well what you mean. A big chunk of the problem I see is that MD’s have fallen prey to the very logical psychological assessment in determining who makes the interview.
Employment agencies and the ubiquitous HR department use these absolutely useless psychological assessment forms and rely on them as a form of insurance or back up to defend decisions.
There are many middle aged Australians with a lot to offer a large range of businesses but they can’t get past the employment agency psychological assessment or they don’t have the ‘right’ qualifications. Thereby never having a chance to impress at an interview.
The process has become very bureaucratic which in a way reflects Australian business which is conservative and non risk taking – by and large.
#10 Barrie, like Gibbo, I have very little in the way of qualifications, but I have had no difficulty in finding work.
Okay, I’m a qualified beauty therapist and makeup artist, but there’s not really a whole lot you can do with those.
I’ve got plenty of other skills which travel well through the job market, and I’m working in a warehouse for not a whole lot of money because they are a good employer who allow me to work around Magilla’s school times.
They are also a bit on the ageist side of things in that they prefer to employ older people.
Go figure. All the degrees in the world are only so many pieces of paper. They don’t make you smarter – they just tell people what sort of studies you’ve completed.
Lower your sights or expand your horizons.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2008 02 29 at 10:09 PM • permalink
I haven’t even been able to get an interview. I think they’ve found me online. Those darn leather-furry sites.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2008 02 29 at 10:13 PM • permalink
- #14
Work Choices allowed flexibility. Now we march to the beat of ACTU.Posted by stackja1945 on 2008 03 01 at 12:25 AM • permalink
- #10 Barrie, I agree. Despite the low unemployment rate, many employers handicap themselves with their attitudes about who is and is not worth employing.
I have recently been watching someone with higher degrees and extensive work history struggle to find work for some time (including temp work). United States employers have much more of a “give em a go” attitude than Australian employers.
And the superstition of “industry experience” sometimes reaches mythical proportions here.Posted by daddy dave on 2008 03 01 at 01:38 AM • permalink
Um, Flannery? It’s almost impossible not to be able to get a job in this country at the moment. The problem lies in those people not wanting to do the jobs that are available.