Douglas stated that Douglas and her husband were uncertain about having another child.
Ashlee Douglas said that many other mothers are considering having a second child.
“I always thought I’d have two children but as time goes on, you can’t help but think nothing’s getting better,” she said.
It is important to consider the cost of living, particularly when it comes to childcare. On the other hand, she’d like a sibling for Lewis.
“Until he’s closer to two, I don’t think I’ll make up my mind one way or the other. Things can change,” she said.
Dr Liz Allen, a demographer at the Australian National University, said the government needs to do more through “procreation policies” if it wants to boost the fertility rate. These policies include increasing gender equality, housing affordability and improving job security, as well as addressing climate change.
“We’ve not seen those four elements required to have that boost in births beyond the falling fertility,” she told ABC’s RN Breakfast on Friday.
Average Australians will have 40
Due to longer life expectancies and fewer births, the average age has increased from under 37 in 2008-09 down to 38.6 last year. The median age in 2032-33 will be 40.1
In a decade, Sam Johnson will turn 40. After spending his 20s trying to make a career, he now works as a transportation planner for governments across Asia and the Pacific.
He plans to put his efforts into building relationships over the next ten years. He hopes to have a family by 40.
Sam Johnson believes that the future holds great promise.Credit:Nikki Short
“I’d like to be a role model and a rock to that family, that’s a core ability that 40 year olds should have,” he said. “I feel like you have to have more responsibility for your community and your family.”
As for what the country will look like in a decade’s time, Johnson hopes the government does more on climate change. Johnson says that overall, Australians will have it fairly well.
“People can be a bit pessimistic about the future, but I think it’s going to be pretty great,” he said.
Migration will make us live longer and be younger.
The average Australian would be even older if they didn’t migrate. The report projects that the average Australian age would rise from 46.6 to 46.6 in 2060-61, if there was no migration.
If the country gets 235,000 migrants a year (the report’s baseline projection) the average age will rise to 42.8 over the same period.
Kirill Kliavin, originally from Ukraine, is part of a wave of skilled migrants who will be key to Melbourne’s economy in the next decade. Credit:Penny Stephens
Unchanged Kirill Kliavin is a one of those immigrants. After completing an applied mathematics course at Odesa in Ukraine, he decided to go abroad to study English. His friends told him that Melbourne had a better lifestyle.
He completed a Master of Computer Science degree at RMIT but was offered a part time job at a digital design agency.
“I didn’t fly with the thought that I would stay here forever, but it wasn’t crossed out of my mind completely,” he said.
Kliavin graduated RMIT in 2013 and was granted citizenship in 2017. He also co-founded Josef, a law technology company. As an employer, Kliavin said that IT companies hire skilled migrants.
“I’m the luckiest person because demand is high [for IT workers], jobs are there,” he said
Sydney won’t be the growth capital of the country
In the years before the pandemic, normal patterns of interstate migration were disrupted. With the closing of the borders, Australians have been able to move again.
While Melbourne will overtake Sydney as Australia’s biggest city, the pace of regional growth will outstrip the major capital cities into the future.
Hannah Goh, a graduate of occupational therapy, was convinced by a last-minute assignment in the flood-stricken Northern Rivers Region last year to begin her career in these regions.
It was a great experience for the former University of Sydney student. She decided to start her career in Inverell in the Northern Tablelands of NSW. She will be moving at the end of January.
Hannah Goh is ready to set off to Inverell (Northern Tablelands NSW) to begin her career in occupational therapy.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Goh stated that despite her family’s ties to Sydney she could see herself remaining in the region for a while.
“Obviously, it’s really hard to buy and live in Sydney as well,” she said.
Bridgette Engeler, an entrepreneurship and innovation lecturer at Swinburne University, said that although an increasing number of people — including herself — were moving to regional cities, it was too soon to know how remote work trends would play out in the long term.
“The reality is, not everything is going to be remote,” she said. “It comes from people who are probably in positions of privilege and can afford to make changes, but not everyone’s going to be in that position.”
Engeler stated that the declining affordability of major cities and the increasing economic and lifestyle possibilities in the region would likely draw more people to smaller cities like Ballarat. Engeler moved from Melbourne in 2020 and now lives in Ballarat.
“Work is part of life, rather than it being the opposite of life,” she said.
Jacqueline Maley provides expert analysis, news, and views to cut through the noise in federal politics. Subscribers can sign-up for our weekly Inside Politics Newsletter here.
