I think welfare needs major reform in Australia but I'm really against this "waiting period" concept. Life sometime happens and people take a tumble. The whole point of a safety net is to catch people when this is happening. Hopefully short term help when you really need it, and gets you back on your feet. No cash for 4 weeks can be absolutely devastating. The young are the ones least likely to be well resourced and most likely to turn to crime. Not everyone has family / social networks then can rely on.
The big problem for welfare is not the first 4 weeks. It's the other end - chronic welfare. That's where the focus should be. The UK is bringing in a cap on welfare. Basically no matter how many claims you make (some people are great at gaming the system), you can't get more than the cap. The cap is at a level where people are always better off working than staying on welfare. This avoids the scenario of large families with multiple child payments making more than someone working and earning.
Btw the Ikea analogy was stupid as well. Just ammunition for those with an agenda to express their faux outrage. I like Scotty but he should have stayed in bed this morning.
