Australia’s Aging Population How should we look after it?
Uploaded by cracky on May 10, 2005
Can you imagine what it will be like when the vast majority of the taxes we pay, will be spent on one, and only one sector of our community? The elderly. It is estimated that by the year 2010, nearly one third of all Australian’s will be unable to contribute to our economy due to old age. This means, that in order to cope with this growing burden on our society, mass changes need to occur to the countries infrastructure. These changes need to be made not only socially, but economically and politically as well, so the growing trend in our demography does not hamper the growth and development of our nation. In this oral I will be outlining some of the key concerns of the issue, such as, what are the rights of the elderly? and what can we do to stem this ageing trend in our community? This will be done in an attempt to answer, how do we look after Australia’s ageing population?
Firstly, what rights do the elderly members of our community have? After years of contributing to the countries tax system, the aged are surely entitled to something. Currently this in the form of a pension. The elderly receive a small sum of money, which is granted by the government on a fortnightly basis. However, in the near future, with the sheer volume of people that will eligible for this service, the government will no longer have the funding to continue these handouts. Therefore social security may well become a thing of the past, and then the need for a new system will be paramount. Government initiatives such as the superannuation scheme, a program in which people are required to save a certain percentage of money of every dollar they make, may replace the current system and be the sole safety net for those in their old age. Thus there is a greater need for more of these initiatives, to ensure the future of not only the aged, but the economy as a whole.
Secondly, what can we do to counter the ageing trend in Australian society? A solution that has been in the news of late, is a plan to increase immigration. Australia is one of the largest countries in the world, yet we have one of the smallest populations. ...