dole bludger

See also: dolebludger

English

Alternative forms

• dolebludger, dole-bludger

Etymology

From dole + bludger.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

dole bludger (plural dole bludgers)

1. (Australia, New Zealand, derogatory, slang) An unemployed person who has no intention of seeking a job, and survives on government-funded unemployment benefits.
   • 1981, Australian Senate, Parliamentary Debates, Senate Weekly Hansard‎^[1], volume 88, page 697:

     As I said earlier, the Prime Minster and the Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs have unmercifully labelled sections of the unemployed as dole bludgers.

   • 1993, Ken Hunt, Mike Taylor, The Xenophobe′s Guide to the Aussies, published 2004, page 13:

     People who do not support the common good, such as dole bludgers (social security cheats) fall outside the mateship fold.

   • 1997, Noel Pearson, Shifting Ground Indeed, in 2011, Up from the Mission: Selected Writings, page 73,

     So from day one of the new government we saw a sustained orgy of divisiveness and meanness about immigration, Aborigines and dole bludgers.

See also

• unemployed
• dolehead