Aus offers bored Brits odd jobs

2010-08-10 12:04

London - Shark tagger, beer taster, koala catcher or kangaroo poo harvester - just some of the jobs South Australia is offering in a bid to get bored Britons to take up posts down under.

The Australian state is hoping to tempt glum Brits aged 18 to 30 with the promise of a more exciting and stress-free life.

Visitors can combine the jobs with travelling around the country.

While Britain suffered a record-length recession and is returning to slender growth, Australia emerged from the global financial crisis as the only advanced economy not to have entered recession.

The South Australia government said its range of jobs promised the "ultimate work-life balance... in stark contrast to the UK's long working hours, high taxes and increasing retirement age".

The jobs on offer include rebuilding homes for Fairy Penguins and a shark personality profiler.

Dig into 'roo poo'

Anyone interested needs to turn up in South Australia on a working holiday visa to be in with a chance of landing such jobs as the "roo poo" harvester.

"Life seems to be dealing workers a rough hand at the moment. Not even the recent sunny weather has managed to cheer up the Brits," said South Australia's London-based agent general Bill Muirhead.

"This isn't about one job that everyone has to compete for, but rather about showing people that South Australia offers more exciting work and travel options than anywhere else in the world.

"Go for something that you can't get anywhere else in the world and have an experience you'll be dining out on for years, the sort of experience you'll be telling your grand-kids about.

"We're offering people a genuine chance to get away from it all."

- AFP