Meet Howard's Welfare Mothers

You'll see them on school days in the pricier parts of cities, reversing people-movers and four-wheel drives into the tightest of parking spots. Their little Lachlans and Ellies have been dropped off at school; the cleaner has the run of the house. Baristas awake! Half a dozen of John Howard's welfare mothers, some with prams and pre-schoolers, are squeezing around a couple of tables joined to hold the double-shot lattes, banana bread and babycinos that will in due course rest on six separate bills. They are an exclusive club, to be sure; some 3,000 wealthy stay-at-home mums—married to bankers, doctors...

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