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AUSTRALIA

Abbott's Team Australia must include jobless young Muslims

  • 11 August 2014

The Abbott Government shelved plans to amend section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act because it feared alienating ethnic minorities. The prime minister declared: ‘I want the communities of our country to be our friend, not our critic. … I want to work with the communities of our country as “Team Australia”’.

He was keenly aware that alienation of minorities caused by the 18C changes would have been likely to contribute to an increase in the number of young Muslim males travelling to wars in the Middle East, and subsequently return to Australia radicalised and skilled to carry out terrorist attacks here. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had said that preventing Australian citizens from becoming involved in terrorist activities was one of Australia's highest national security priorities.

It would seem reasonable to assume that ‘Team Australia’ refers to a nation in which social inclusion is a priority for government policy. Such a term would indeed be meaningless if the government did not care about social inclusion. That’s why it’s so significant that the May Budget was one of the most divisive in the nation’s history.

One of the more extreme measures in the Budget was the proposed rules forcing young people to wait six months before getting unemployment benefits and require them to apply for 40 jobs per month. This divisiveness of this was amplified with Thursday’s release of statistics that show Australia’s unemployment rate is at its highest in 12 years.

How can the nation’s young unemployed feel part of Team Australia if they sense they are being punished by such a draconian regime? Surely they will feel excluded, sitting on the sideline with the chill wind running through their veins. 

Young Muslim males are well represented in the ranks Australia’s young unemployed, yet the government hopes they will identify with Team Australia and not be subject to the discontent that makes them open to the recruitment pitches of Muslim radicals.

It’s fine to protect young Muslim males from being excluded from mainstream Australia through vilification. But there’s little point to that if they feel excluded by a set of judgmental welfare rules. The government will be completely outflanked by their Muslim radical brothers in offering means towards self-validation.

It’s likely there’s a political imperative behind the government’s toughness against the young unemployed. Voters like to see governments crack down on ‘dole bludgers’ in the way that they want the boats stopped. So perhaps It’s something they
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