On the radio today the treasurer Peter Costello was discussing the pros and cons of short term seasonal work in Australia such as fruit picking. The question was whether one should import seasonal labour from overseas, or keep those jobs for Australians. Using a timeless Aussie metaphor, the radio interviewer suggested that it would be difficult to ask Australians to "pull up stumps" and move to the country for such short term work.
A feature of all propaganda is the ability to bewilder an unsuspecting radio audience with the invention of a new verb. The treasurer's response was:
"Do you really think that it is easier to up-stump people from overseas, rather than to up-stump Australians for those jobs?!?"
Just what English needed. A verb for "semi-voluntary short-term relocation".
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