The cafe at the pool is pretty good and one of their specialities is a blackberry and custard muffin. I think I'll volunteer next week as well.
While I was there, I glanced through the local paper, which I've stopped buying. It's mostly rubbish but there was one interesting comment article about a move in Germany to provide free holidays each year for disadvantaged families. What's interesting is that similar schemes are being discussed in other European countries as well and the UK has already put a scheme in place where families who are struggling can apply for a couple of weeks at a holiday camp, free of charge.
It's based on the premise that a holiday is as much a human right as the right to work. The fact that many families can't afford one is mostly not their own fault. Not everyone has a high-paying job and, when things are tight, holidays are the first thing to go. The social benefits of a break are well noted, especially for children.
Germany is looking at a voucher scheme which could provide travel and/or accommodation and food. Around $700 would be the maximum money available and all that would be spent within Germany, stimulating the local tourism market. I think it has a lot to recommend it.
I wonder what our Treasurer would make of it? 'Poor people don't usually take holidays and, if they do, they are not as long as people with more money. I've got ABS figures to prove it.'
It surprises me that, too often, Australia looks to the US for inspiration, when countries in Northern Europe are showing much more imagination. I don't mean the rust-belt countries like Spain, Italy or Greece, or the UK which is still trying to get over Thatcherism. I'm talking about the Scandinavian countries, the Baltic States, Germany and Switzerland, all of which could teach us a lot.
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