Australia’s Big Project: Restoring the Intergenerational Contract

The issue of intergenerational fairness, particularly as it affects younger Australians, has become a significant contemporary political and policy issue. Key concerns include generationally unfair housing and taxation systems, and the failure to address climate change, leading to allegations that the ‘intergenerational contract’ is being broken. Yet precisely what an ‘intergenerational contract’ means is not clear. Equally, the initial interest in intergenerational equity seemed to overlook young people. This paper addresses three questions. How should we best think about the idea of an ‘intergenerational contract’? What does the evidence suggest about the state of the intergenerational contract in Australia? And how can a more equitable and sustainable approach to economic policy be achieved for young people now and into the future? The paper begins by briefly surveying and analysing three of the main approaches to conceptualising the concept of an ‘intergenerational contract’. The paper then focuses on key policies in Australia that have unbalanced the intergenerational contract. The final section of this paper outlines some potential policy ideas that could help restore intergenerational equity.