Australian Treasurer told to 'try harder on welfare'

A professor from Australia's most prestigious university said yesterday that Australian Treasurer, Peter Costello, "must try harder on welfare." Professor Bob Gregory of the Australian National University and leading economist said, "If people could not hide on disability and sole parent pensions then [Mr Costello] couldn't claim credit for the fall in unemployment."

"In my view, the Treasurer has to come out openly and say that he has not been able to produce full-time jobs at a sufficient rate to get people off welfare. Either he has to wait until the economy generates unskilled jobs or he has to play around with the wage system."

Another report relating to the Australian Social Security system was released yesterday by researchers at the University of Melbourne. It found that care-givers who look after mentally ill dependents claim significantly less stress when they engaged in work outside the home.