Party Pooper

Now I don't want to rain on Monsignori Abbott's parade or upset Comrade Julia's day but can either of them please explain why they are both talking about and planning to implement a *Welfare Crackdown* when the unemployment numbers look like this?

According to the ABS, with the possible exceptions of the NT, ACT and WA, there are substantially more unemployed people in the nation than there are jobs available.

In South Australia for example, there are on average 5.2 unemployed people competing for every vacancy. Mr Rann and Co. have been doing an excellent job by the look of this statistic, Virginia ;-)

Of course these *facts* can't be *true* because they are at odds with the clearly superior opinions of our CEO's and their mates who will tell you that they can't find the staff to work in their enterprises.

I suppose in the upside down world of our politicians and media and big business this equates to *serious skill shortages*.

And of course these serious skill shortages mean that those *bludgers* on Newstart and Disability Support will have to be levered off *welfare* and forced back into the workforce.