The unemployed aren't actually 'job snobs'

Editor's note

Yesterday the federal government blew strong smoke signals it isn’t going to increase unemployment payments any time soon. In a front-page story in The Australian evoking the spectre of “job snobs”, federal minister for employment Michaelia Cash declared: “There are jobs out there for those who want them.” University of Queensland research fellow Michelle Peterie and her colleagues, who have researched the experience of the unemployed in Australia, note such bombastic rhetoric isn’t novel, but it flies in the face of the evidence.

Tim Wallace

Deputy Editor: Business + Economy

Top story

The latest claim that job-seekers are actively snubbing work opportunities flies in the face of research. www.shutterstock.com

These ‘job snob’ claims don’t match the evidence

Michelle Peterie, The University of Queensland; Gaby Ramia, University of Sydney; Greg Marston, The University of Queensland; Roger Patulny, University of Wollongong

Claiming "there are jobs out there for those who want them" is cheap rhetoric glossing over the reality of unemployment.

Honduran Indigenous environmentalist Berta Caceres who was killed in March 2016. EPA/Gustavo Amador

More than 1,700 activists have been killed this century defending the environment

Nathalie Butt, The University of Queensland; Mary Menton, University of Sussex

The reported number of deaths of people campaigning to protect the environment has tripled over a 15 year period.

Peter Hook at a recent Joy Division Orchestrated performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall. VDImages & Yannis Hostelidis

Will time time tear us apart? Exploring the appeal of Joy Division 40 years on

David Rowe, Western Sydney University

The music alone, despite its unquestionable majesty, cannot entirely explain the enduring appeal of a band that existed for barely two years before its lead singer took his own life.

There has been sustained criticism of the Liberal Party for its under-representation of women in parliament. Mick Tsikas/AAP

Why a code of conduct may not be enough to change the boys’ club culture in the Liberal Party

Marija Taflaga, Australian National University; Katrine Beauregard, Australian National University

What's needed is strong leadership and sustained public pressure that makes it is harder for political parties to turn a blind eye to sexual harassment and assault.

Politics + Society
Why drug cheats are still being caught seven years after the 2012 London Olympics Jack Anderson, University of Melbourne Retrospective drug testing is meant to help deter doping in sport, but will the public become indifferent to drug taking as more and more cheaters are caught?

Cities
Focus on managing social housing waiting lists is failing low-income households Abigail Powell, UNSW; Chris Hartley, UNSW The need to manage long waiting lists for social housing, rather than serving the best interests of tenants and prospective tenants, is a major driver of policymakers' approach.

Health + Medicine

We can cut private health insurance costs by fixing how we pay for hip replacements and other implants

Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute

Health insurance costs are rising and the cost of prostheses such as hip replacements are partly to blame. But there is a way to rein in costs – and give patients more choice and better devices.
Mums in prison or whose babies are in care need breastfeeding support too

Karleen Gribble, Western Sydney University; Julie Smith, Australian National University

Supporting mums in prison and whose babies are in care to breastfeed has benefits for mums, their children and wider society.

Science + Technology

Australian media regulators face the challenge of dealing with global platforms Google and Facebook

Terry Flew, Queensland University of Technology

Google and Facebook attract plenty of users and advertising dollars in Australia, but the ACCC will have to work with other watchdogs overseas on any effective regulation.
Buffet buddies: footage reveals that fierce leopard seals work together when king penguin is on the menu

David Hocking, Monash University; Alistair Evans, Monash University; James Robbins, Plymouth University

Cooperation or theft? New observations show wild leopard seals sharing food when targeting king penguins in Antarctica.
Think your metadata is only visible to national security agencies? Think again

Damien Manuel, Deakin University

Under controversial national security laws, parts of your mobile phone data is accessible by federal police and counterterrorism agencies. But in reality dozens of other organisations can access it too.

Environment + Energy
Australia should explore nuclear waste before we try domestic nuclear power Heiko Timmers, UNSW There's precious little business case for nuclear power in Australia, but we could start with the end product: storing radioactive waste.