Coalition panders to prejudice on welfare as it throws ideological red meat at its base | Lenore Taylor

Alan Tudge seems to understand unemployment is no bludgers' paradise, but does the rest of his party?

An unnamed backbencher, quoted in an article about the Turnbull government's now-abandoned musings on scrapping work for the dole, argued the program should be retained because it was "red meat for the base".

The prejudices of the Coalition's conservative "base" are, it seems, a more important consideration than other factors, like a government-commissioned review that found work for the dole increased the chances of an unemployed person getting a job by just 2%, or the fact that charities working in the sector consider the program a "demonstrable failure".