Life on the dole is the lack of a lot more than just cash

She went off to Australia. Back then, emigration was just fun. Now, as part-owner of a house worth nothing, a massive mortgage, three children and parents whose health deteriorates by the day, emigration not only doesn’t look like fun, it doesn’t look possible.

SHE appeared in a magazine a few years ago. She was one of a small group of “Women to Watch”. The accompanying picture showed her: tall, blonde, slender, dressed in a pinstripe trouser suit. The same suit, a bit threadbare now, she wears, these days, to collect her dole.

It took her a while to get a grip on the dole queue system. It helped when a quiet man standing near her in the queue suggested she come at 7:30am.