The Wire

Job snobs. It’s the latest snappy title dreamt up by the Federal Government to categorize those previously known as dole bludgers. According to Joe Hockey, the Minister for Human Services, job snobs are people on welfare payments who are getting offered jobs but are refusing to take them. Mr Hockey says that in order to crack down on the so-called cheats, the government will invest $30 million in toughening procedures at Centrelink. This will mean that the diaries that jobseekers are required to fill out to prove they are looking for work will be checked more thoroughly, and they will also be required to attend more interviews with Centrelink workers. The Wire put the Minister’s claims to Michael Raper, the President of the National Welfare Rights Lobby.