Xmas work in Australia

The deteriorating employment situation may drastically affect students' Christmas vacation incomes this year.

It has been estimated there will be about 16,000 unemployed by the end of the year.

The majority of these will be manual workers who will be competing for the unskilled work students seek during the long vacation.

When one considers the annual crop of school leavers will also be on the labour market about the same time, the problem looms even larger.

Some students may not get satisfactory jobs at all. However, most will find themselves unable to obtain employment for the desired period. That is, many will take up to a month to find a job. And the work obtained will neither pay the wages, or more important still, offer the overtime normally available.

While the situation calls for moves to raise bursaries the immediate future must be considered.

The solution to the problem appears to be work in Australia over the vacation. For despite unemployment figures the Australian economy because of its greater size and strength, is more able to absorb large quantities of unskilled labour than is New Zealand.

The implications of say 10,000 students working in Australia over the vacation, are enough as KJH once said, "to make the mind boggle."

1. Sudents would earn more money.

2. The Student Travel Bureau (STB) would net at least £25,000 which could be used to benefit students in all sorts of interesting ways. One would be to employ a full-time education officer.

3. The economy would gain approximately two and a half million pounds of overseas funds which students would bring back into the country.

4. The unemployed wouldn't have to compete with students for work and this means fewer on the dole.

5. Students would gain the benefits normally associated with a trip overseas.

6. Air New Zealand (Government owned) would fly the students across the Tasman and the revenues gained would help pay for the DC8 that crashed.

7. And last but not least student newspapers declining advertising revenues would be countered by the advertisements Air New Zealand and the STB would give to the whole scheme in a massive publicity drive during the last term.

The only people who would lose would be the Australians and they don't count as they have managed so far to get the better of us on the trade setup.

Thus students who can raise about £45 are advised to obtain a STB concession return fare to Australia to soak up the sunshine and bring back enough dollars to finance the Government and themselves for the coming year. B.G.S.