Down but not out in Darlington

But the 43-year-old’s life has changed dramatically since last July, when Mr Hughes was made redundant as part of his company’s attempts to cut costs. “I got a decent payout so, financially, I was fine for a while,” he says. “Back around that time, you sort of think you’ll have a month or two off, and then you’ll get back into it, but it’s the getting back into it that’s obviously the hard part.”

While Mr Hughes has his own consultancy business where he does work on a project basis, a lack of consistent employment since February meant he was forced to defer his mortgage and apply for a Centrelink payment. “It’s the only financial income I’m getting, and it’s not a lot of money,” he says. “But you make do ... it could be worse. You’ve just got to keep your spirits up.”

He has curbed his spending in a number of ways, from shopping at Aldi and buying No Name groceries, to eating at home or a friend’s place, buying two-dollar bottles of wine and attending free festivals in Sydney. “You can still have fun without having to spend money,” he says. “In the past I haven’t had to worry about it, but now I do. That’s fine. It’s not going to stop me doing things.”

When he isn’t enjoying life on the cheap, he is diligently hunting for jobs, using both recruitment agencies and his own contacts in the industry. He has applied for positions both interstate and overseas, and remains hopeful that he will be offered something soon. “I know it’s going to turn around,” he says. “It might take a while, but you’ve just got to be flexible.”

Living near Newtown, Mr Hughes often walks along King Street in his free time. “I love watching people,” he says. “People of all different walks of life - they just make do with what they’ve got, they sort of adapt. That’s what I’ve really learnt in the last year or so. You adapt. You want your life to go certain ways and it doesn’t. Friends know that I’m doing it tough but they’re not doing it any less tough in their own particular way.”

Photo: Andrew Collis - Caption: Doug Hughes

Source: South Sydney Herald June 2009 www.southsydneyherald.com.au