Pauline Hanson Wants Young People to Wait a Month For the Dole

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has today added to her ever-growing list of incendiary, headline-making statements, saying her party would support making unemployed people aged under the age of 25 wait four weeks before becoming eligible for Newstart.

Making young people wait a few weeks is actually the Liberal Party's idea—but their legislation was blocked by the Senate last year. With Hanson's support, the waiting period stands a greater chance of success in the new Parliament.

Hanson told the ABC that the legislation, which would apparently save the government $173 million, would "definitely" secure support from One Nation.

"I think it's very wise to actually have a wait period," she said. "Kids who leave school, or young adults, they can leave school at 15 years of age and I think if they see this golden egg there and [think] we can receive this money, I don't think it's an incentive for kids to get out and go to work."

In fact, Hanson thinks that the proposed legislation doesn't go far enough.

"Personally myself, I don't think it's long enough, but I'd be open to hear what the people feel about it," she said. "The fact is you can't just think you're going to get up and leave school possibly at 15 years of age or 16 and think: 'Oh wow I'm going to go straight onto the dole'.

"That is not good enough."

Young people on welfare have made headlines in recent weeks, with the Daily Telegraph publishing a cover story about two young millennials embodying Hanson's fears. The tabloid interviewed two young women who were "young, able and unwilling to work" and who would "rather chill at Maccas" than get a job.

Ashleigh and Amy were later revealed to be having a laugh at the Telegraph's expense, with Amy's dad revealing she'd made the whole thing up and discrediting her as a "silly little teenager who was acting up and wanted her five minutes of fame."

Amy actually did have a job—at the very McDonald's she'd lied about frequenting as a dole-bludging layabout.

While Labor and the Greens oppose the welfare legislation, One Nation and the Coalition will need to secure the support of the Nick Xenophon Team to get this legislation accross the line. The NXT party is yet to decide on how they'll vote on the issue.

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