Dole Bludgers !

This move to force new applicants for the youth allowance and Newstart to be tested for drug dependency simply revives that old theory that we are supporting legions of " dole bludgers ". What is laughable is that should someone's test show that they have used marijuana in the past few weeks we will immediately place their welfare income under " management ".

We will take the few miserable dollars they receive out of their hands and place it on a card which can only be used for what we deem " essentials ".  Theoretically, they will be unable to spend their money on alcohol or tobacco - or drugs.   In the event that they fail a later second testing, they will be placed in the hands of a doctor and they will need to commence addiction  recovery.

Specifically, this testing will initially be confined to a small area in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, all of which have a high incidence of applicants being sustained by either youth allowance or Newstart.  What is not explained is the thinking as to how this measure is supposed to move these people into paid employment.

The sad thing is that we actually have a skills shortage in Australia and our education system is turning out kids who lack the training to be attractive to employers.  Some are leaving school without the ability to either read or write the English language and the best job they can hope for is in the labour force - and that is rapidly decreasing in this age of automation and artificial intelligence.

This draconian testing regime also takes the old " hard line "attitude to drugs. Marijuana is now legal in many parts of the world and here police simply issue a " caution " when they discovery small personal quantities.  Some people have become users of marijuana in preference to expensive alcohol or tobacco, and vast quantities imbibe methamphetamines at music festivals.  These can be detected in the bloodstream for days after use, hence the casual user will become a victim of these tests.

The real reason this insane idea is being pushed in parliament is because we are teetering on the edge of a recession and the government wants to draw pubic attention away from the probable outcome.  We will need to stimulate the economy - and that will involve spending money we do not have.  The surplus we have been promised will have to be delayed.  No mention is made of the vast army of civil servants who will be needed to both conduct the tests, evaluate the results and supervise the addiction reduction programmes that will be the outcome.

All that money would be better spent on a revival of TAFE to teach practical skills that would equip young people - and the mature that are finding job opportunities receding out of their grasp - the practical skills that are now eluding many potential employers.

Fortunately, the cross bench in parliament is showing caution.  Wise heads will see that this is an impractical idea that is unlikely to deliver a tangible result.