There are some interesting documents written about the Job Guarantee proposal, as well as the successful Marienthal pilot project. You can find some of this reading and research here!
- https://sustainable-prosperity.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/The-Case-for-a-Job-Guarantee-Report-August-2022.pdf
- https://maxkasy.github.io/home/files/papers/Jobguarantee_marienthal.pdf
- https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/providing-local-actors-with-case-studies-evidence-and-solutions-places_eb108047-en/magma-a-job-guarantee-pilot-project_cb3acbf2-en.html
In October 2024, we explored Ian's idea for a Job Guarantee pilot project with a group of interested neighbours. Ian introduced us to the successful Marienthal pilot project, and shared the impacts of the program which is designed to benefit the individual, the community and the environment.
After discussing the recommendations from the Marienthal pilot project, and how a project like this should be able to work on a large scale, the group quickly came to the conclusion that advocating for a federally funded, nation-wide scheme to support meaningful employment for those currently unemployed was possibly a bridge too far with everything else that is happening in the world and Australia right now.
However, there was some energy around a variation of the idea that explores supporting meaningful employment opportunities for people locally, from a mutual aid kind of perspective rather than a government funded scheme.
At the end of this session, Ian agreed to do some further research around the case for a Job Guarantee in Australia, as proposed by the Sustainable Prosperity Action Group in 2022.
