Looking at the way the government has torn itself over the issue of marriage equality and how it has pursued its employment policy it is clear that the government sorely needs a minister for common sense.

The government’s handling of marriage equality surely must rank up as among the most stupid ever seen in Australian politics.

Common sense tells you that more than 40 years after no-fault divorce was introduced, where same-sex couples in a de facto relationship have the same entitlements as opposite-sex de facto couples, where same-sex couples can adopt, and where television programs designed around couples marrying on first sight are a ratings hit, two people of the same gender being able to marry is hardly going rock our society.

Common sense tells you that when other nations with whom we share deep cultural ties such as the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, USA, Germany and France already allow same-sex marriage, then clearly that we are still debating it shows us not merely to be behind the times but pretty much hostage to bigotry.

The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (Hilda) survey released this week also shows just how far behind the rest of the nation lags the government. Australians are more likely to believe that homosexual couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples than they do that marriage is a lifetime relationship that should never be ended.

The marriage equality debate has been run and common sense won – we now wait for the government to catch up. But given the government’s lack of common sense in other policy areas, perhaps we will have to wait a bit longer.

This week the employment minister, Michaelia Cash announced the latest batch of “youth jobs path” internships.

This is the program that involves unemployed people under the age of 25 getting an extra $200 a fortnight for doing an internship for four to 12 weeks of between 15-25 hours a week. The employer of this intern gets $1,000, and does not actually pay the intern. If, after the internship they do then employ them, they get a wage subsidy of up to $10,000 (depending on certain conditions).

It’s a sweet deal.

But common sense tells you it is not an employment policy, but an industry subsidy with a nice bonus of bashing people on welfare as slackers.

If an intern does 50 hours a fortnight work she or he gets just an extra $4 an hour – hardly the greatest of all incentives. And given the minimum wage is $18.29 an hour, and the current Newstart for a single person is $535.60 a fortnight, if any of these interns work more than 40 hours in the fortnight they will be on a rate below minimum wage.

Cash reiterated the oft used slogan of the government that “the best form of welfare is a job”. It’s a phrase that that makes about as much sense as saying it’s ironic that it rained on your wedding day. Or perhaps the more apt lyric is the “it’s a free ride when you’ve already paid” except of course in this instance the employers aren’t paying, but they are still getting a free ride.

Now common sense might have you think that for these internships to be of any worth they would be in jobs that young people would normally struggle to get, right?

Sorry, nope.

This week, Cash proudly announced a hoped-for increase of 10,000 path internships with the Australian Hotels Association.

The accommodation and food industry into which these 10,000 internships will go employs young workers. Under-25s account for 15% of all people employed in Australia, but they account for 45% of all workers in the accommodation and food services industry. More than one-fifth of all workers under the age of 25 work in that industry (21%) compared with 5% of workers over the age of 25.

It is also the lowest-paying industry. The average earnings for workers in the industry is just $524 a week compared to the national average of $1,163. It also has the highest level of underemployment of any industry. In May, 20% of workers in the industry were underemployed compared to the national average of 9.1%.

Common sense tells you that when you have an industry that pays less than others, employs more young people than others, and has a much higher level of underemployment than others, it is not really in need of policy that will have 10,000 young people working for less than the minimum wage and for which the employer will not only not have to pay them, but will be given $1,000 from the government.

And I wouldn’t be holding my breath on the “up to 10,000” number. In the media release announcing the deal, the minister boasted that “1,015 internship placements” had begun – tracking rather behind the “up to” 30,000 a year that was promised when the path plan was first announced in the 2016 budget.

Cash also claimed that “of the 500 interns who have completed their placement, approximately 40 per cent have secured employment with either the host business or another employer”.

That equates to just 200 people who have done these internships and have now secured employment.

For a bit of context, in June there were 275,000 unemployed people under 25. And we really have no idea how many of the 200 secured employment because of the internship. The internships go for up to 12 weeks and the median time people aged 15-24 are unemployed is 15 weeks.

Work for the dole schemes wherever they have been tried have not actually produced any real results other than a warm fuzzy feeling from those who believe that “the best form of welfare is a job”.

Common sense tell you the best form of welfare is enough money to enable you to live on which enables you to devote your time to concentrating on finding a job rather than worrying about keeping the lights on.

If the value of work – both in income, and (as conservatives love to boast) “dignity” – is so great then common sense tells you unemployed will do what they can to get a job. And the reality is they do. And if common sense won’t tell you that, then look at the data.

There is no epidemic of “youth welfare slackers” – and as with marriage equality, this was also demonstrated by the Hilda report.

The Hilda report that shows that since 2009 the percentage of the population on welfare and of those who are dependent for more than half of their income has been relatively flat. Not only has there not be a surge in people on welfare, the current level remains well below where it was in 2001.

But don’t expect the government’s messaging to change, history tells us that as with their policy towards same sex marriage, their employment policy will always involve treating someone as undeserving. Common sense be damned.