Professor Mary Murphy:

I totally agree with the Deputy that the conditions associated with actively and genuinely seeking work are very negative with respect to how they are experienced by people. It is not about that. It is about trying to encourage types of participation that are socially valuable and rewarding, and about valuing that type of participation. In this context, we are talking about family care being the type of participation we want to reward and value. In another context we could talk about the person the Deputy discussed, maybe a small farmer, who could otherwise get caught with dole conditions and actively seeking work. That person might be doing some environmentally valuable work.