‘Young Aussies not cut out for hard work’: Gai ­Waterhouse

Legendary horse trainer Gai Waterhouse says she’s been forced to employ oversees workers because young Aussies aren’t willing to put in the hard yards and do tough jobs anymore.

Speaking to The Saturday Telegraph, Waterhouse said today’s youth have it too easy and are willing to fall back on the dole rather than roll up their sleeves for the physical labour and unsociable hours required for work in the stables.

“Nobody in Australia could run their stables if it wasn’t for the overseas backpackers or students on special visas,” Waterhouse told the publication.

She added that life is “just a bit too good in Australia” and that young Aussies aren’t “cut out for … hard work”.

“They haven’t been trained to do it and they’ve got the dole. They’ve got the comfort zone.”

It’s true that many of the jobs Baby Boomers had in their youth aren’t as popular with the young generation and a plethora of new jobs in the tech field has made it easier for them to find work in hours that better suit their social lives.

According to government figures from late 2016, about 800,000 people on are on Newstart payments although almost half of all unemployed people find a job within 10 weeks.

Australia’s welfare system has changed a lot over the past 30 years and there are often complaints that many have become too reliant on the handout – causing them to settle into a life of complacency on the taxpayer dollar.

It certainly does seem easier these days to make a living on the unemployment benefit when compared to the dole rules Baby Boomers were forced to abide by in their own youth.

In 1976, single people over the age of 18 could be expected to change their locality to find a job and a work test could be failed if they turned up to an interview or job in unacceptable dress. Skilled workers who had not found an appropriate job within six weeks would be required to accept any unskilled job even if that involved a reduction in wages or status, and those who became unemployed voluntarily had to wait six weeks before eligible for benefit.

Things changed in 1990 when an ‘at home’ rate of $69.20 per week was paid to those beneficiaries who were unmarried, aged 18 to 21 years-old, without dependants and living at a parent’s home.

While the payment is adjusted with inflation, the current Newstart Allowance is set at $489.70 per fortnight for a single adult with no children, and rental assistance can be provided on top. Recipients must commit to a “job plan” made in agreement with Centrelink and must make every effort to find work. However, there is no cut off date to the payment and those who fail to find work can continue to receive the welfare handout for years.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you thin today’s youth are too willing to fall back on the dole instead of doing ‘hard jobs’?