Generations Apart

Over the past 18 months, younger generations of Australians have endured stresses, economic hardship and sacrificed their way of life to protect their elders. Additionally, younger generations will end up bearing most of the cost of our COVID spending. Once the scale of these costs becomes more apparent, will their goodwill evaporate?

Intergenerational inequality – be it asset or income – is the real issue Canberra will have to address over the coming years. As the cost-of-living climbs, younger generations are also finding themselves priced out of capital city housing markets. If our political leaders don’t respond satisfactorily to intergenerational inequality, we risk entrenching privilege, lowering social mobility, and harming the welfare of future generations. So how will younger generations respond? To hear the views of two younger Australians, we invited Tom Ballard and Satya Marar, to join us for a conversation.

Tom Ballard is a former host of Triple J’s ‘Breakfast’ show and late-night TV show ‘Tonightly with Tom Ballard’. He is currently writing a book on millennial socialism. Satya Marar is a policy professional, writer, and admitted solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales who, until recently, was a research associate at the Centre for Independent Studies. He’s currently studying for a master’s degree in Economics at George Mason University in Virginia. Host: Tom Switzer is executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies and presenter of Between the Lines at ABC’s Radio National.