Australians can expect to live longer in the coming decades, with more of them reaching their 90s, according to The Guardian. The newspaper reports that life expectancy in the country is forecast to rise over the decades ahead.
The projection sits alongside other long-range demographic forecasts for Australia. The Conversation reports the country is on track to reach 39 million people by the mid-2060s, though population growth is expected to be slower than previously. The Australian attributes part of that slowdown to fewer births and the ageing of the Baby Boomer generation, whose deaths are weighing on growth.
Coverage of the same forecasts points to uneven outcomes. News.com.au describes the outlook for Australian life in 2066 as "unequal," suggesting the gains and pressures of an older, larger population will not be shared evenly.
Taken together, the reports sketch a country growing more slowly than once expected while its residents live longer, a combination that reshapes how many people will be working, retiring and needing care in the decades to come.
Separately, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged fresh tax cuts while warning of what SMH.com.au calls "confronting" news in the economic outlook — a signal that fiscal questions are already forming around the same long-term trends.
What to watch next: the full detail of the life expectancy and population projections, and how governments respond to an older Australia.