Australia's Demographic Challenges

 

Conclusion

Some people argue that we don’t need to take steps now to address the ageing of the population. After all, some of these demographic changes have a long way to go before they fully work out.

But just as demographic change takes a long time to take effect, so too does the policy response to the change require a long time to take effect. The people who will be carrying the tax system in 40 years time have already been born. There are long lead times in implementing change in the area of their retirement incomes. To achieve worthwhile change in 30 or 40 years time requires action now.

The longer we leave this action the greater the changes we will need.

We need to act now so we can maintain a prosperous economy and a cohesive society that does not leave an enormous burden on future generations. We cannot expect these problems to fix themselves.

 

Next: Appendix – the economic implications of an ageing population

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