PROGRESS 2050: Toward a prosperous future for all Australians
Older, bigger, slower growing, more diverse. Living standards at risk of going backwards. These were the key takeaways from the latest Federal Intergenerational Report (IGR), writes Dr Liz Allen. The intergenerational bargain or contract, which implicitly suggests that the country handed to each subsequent generation is the same, if not better, than the socioeconomic conditions enjoyed previously, has been eroded. Increasing or maintaining living standards can no longer be guaranteed. Australia’s dumb luck has run out.
With an increasing number of university students unable to afford basic living essentials, the government's pledge of "no one held back or left behind" rings hollow. The new Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) scheme, introduced in the Budget, offers a weekly support payment for nursing, teaching and social work students, while excluding numerous professions like allied health and medicine, where students are mandated to undertake hundreds of unpaid clinical placement hours.
Read more Opinion article February 15, 2023Australia is currently facing a severe shortage of rental housing, with rental vacancy rates reaching record lows of 0.8 per cent around the country. Making it easier to rent out a spare bedroom could help to address some of Australia’s immediate housing affordability and supply challenges, which could also assist in easing the pace of growth in rental prices, writes Aaron Korczak-Krzeczowski.
With rising rates of imprisonment, CEDA Chief Economist Jarrod Ball explores the cost of recidivism to the Australian economy.
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