Barnaby Joyce, a One Nation MP and former Deputy Prime Minister, said Australians who choose not to work are lazy [1, 2].
The comments highlight a growing tension regarding Australia's labor shortages and the reliance on migration to sustain economic productivity.
Speaking in an interview with News24, Joyce said the nation currently lacks the proper mindset to address job vacancies [1, 2]. He said some individuals remain unemployed not because of a lack of opportunity, but due to a personal choice to avoid employment [1, 2].
"We don’t have the right attitude," Joyce said [1, 2].
Joyce linked this perceived lack of work ethic directly to the country's immigration needs. He said that because some citizens refuse to work, the government is forced to recruit more workers from abroad than would otherwise be necessary to fill open positions [1, 2].
"Some of the people, not because they’re unemployed, but because they’re lazy, let’s call it what it is, they’re lazy," Joyce said [1, 2].
He said the current situation creates a dependency on overseas labor to maintain the economy [1, 2].
"Because some people are lazy, we have to bring in more people; I know we have to bring in some people, more people than we should, to do the jobs," Joyce said [1, 2].
“"We don’t have the right attitude."”
These remarks reflect a broader political debate in Australia concerning the balance between domestic workforce participation and migration. By framing labor shortages as a matter of individual character rather than systemic economic issues, Joyce positions the One Nation party's stance on migration as a reaction to domestic workforce failures.
