Australia will be bigger, older and wealthier in 40 years — but maintaining our living standards and paying for the services we expect will become much harder.
The latest Intergenerational Report forecasts the population approaching 40 million by 2066, while the number of Australians aged over 85 triples to 1.9 million. That means rapidly rising demand for hospitals and aged care, with proportionally fewer workers helping pay the bills.
The biggest variable is productivity. Treasury assumes productivity growth of 1.2 per cent a year, compared with about 0.8 per cent over the past two decades. If productivity remains at that lower level, real GDP per person would be about $20,000 lower by 2066.
That helps explain the government's hopes for AI. Even a few tenths of a percentage point of extra productivity, compounded over decades, could make an enormous difference to future living standards and the budget.
Singapore Airlines has been named the world’s best airline for 2026, taking the top spot from last year’s winner Qatar Airways. Qantas was the highest-ranked Australian carrier, coming in at number 12 in the Skytrax World Airline Awards, which surveyed passengers across more than 300 airlines.
Rank
Airline
1
Singapore Airlines
2
Qatar Airways
3
Cathay Pacific
4
ANA All Nippon Airways
5
Turkish Airlines
6
Emirates
7
Air France
8
Hainan Airlines
9
Japan Airlines
10
Korean Air
11
EVA Air
12
Qantas Airways
13
STARLUX Airlines
14
Lufthansa
15
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Source: Skytrax
Fear & Greed Q+A today
On the NFL's plan to turn Australia into a nation of fans, and the role data plays in fan engagement:
“Every fan comes into this with a different journey. They started out differently. Every time I ask a fan, ‘How did you become a fan of the NFL?’, they’ll say, ‘My dad went to Chicago and got me a hat’, or ‘I watched a clip on social’, or ‘I fell in love with a girl from Atlanta’, or whatever the story is they’ve got to tell. Everyone’s come into it differently.
“So the great thing about what we’ve been able to do through technology is take a bit of a personalised approach to the fan base, talk to them about something that’s important to them and the passion point that they came in through. So if they came in because of a fashion item or a piece of clothing or a piece of merchandise they saw, then how do we use technology to ring back around that and talk to them about that team or that player?”
Adobe, which works with the NFL on its fan engagement technology, is a supporter of Fear & Greed.
Rates: Economists at all four big banks now expect the RBA to raise interest rates next week, after ANZ and CBA joined Westpac and NAB in forecasting an increase. The cash rate has already risen three times this year to 4.35 per cent.
Triple Zero: A bipartisan parliamentary inquiry has recommended considering a new statutory authority to manage Triple Zero calls. It also wants emergency texting, automatic compensation following outages and network sharing when a telco goes down.
Telix $3.3 billion deal: Telix Pharmaceuticals has agreed to buy German radiopharmaceutical company ITM Isotope Technologies for up to $3.3 billion. The deal would create an $8 billion cancer-treatment group with expected annual revenue of around $US1.3 billion.
Super Retail: ASIC has launched Federal Court proceedings against former Super Retail chief executive Anthony Heraghty over his alleged failure to disclose and manage conflicts involving former HR boss Jane Kelly. The regulator says the case is about governance and directors’ duties, not the alleged relationship itself.
BYD cuts EV prices: BYD has slashed almost $7000 from the Atto 1, taking its price to $19,900 and making an EV Australia's equal-cheapest new car.
Brigitte Bardot's belongings: Almost 300 possessions belonging to the late French screen legend are being auctioned in Paris, including ballet flats, jewellery, guitars, Le Creuset pans — and her copy of the Kama Sutra. Proceeds will support Bardot's animal welfare foundation.
Fear-o-meter
From the executive summary of the Intergenerational Report 2026:
The pace of change is accelerating and intensifying, here in Australia and around the world. These five most consequential transformations will have profound implications for our economy and society.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing rapidly, and will be a defining influence on the economy over the next 40 years.
Geopolitical fragmentation is increasing as conflict and competition have flared and broadened.
The energy transition is becoming more important and urgent.
The population is ageing more quickly, accelerated by falling fertility rates.
Australia’s industrial base is evolving further towards services, influenced by AI and the other major transitions.
At the same time, concerns about intergenerational equity have deepened, particularly regarding housing affordability for younger Australians. This has occurred against the backdrop of increasing democratic disruption, political polarisation and a declining trust in institutions.
Australia is better placed, better prepared and has a better plan than most countries to deal with accelerating change, but we cannot be complacent. We have substantial advantages but face serious challenges.
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