Swan rules out raising pension age

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has ruled out raising the pension age beyond 67 to
combat economic pressures as the population balloons to 35 million over the next 40
years.
Nor does he believe this new population estimate - seven million more than forecast
in 2007 - will force a change to immigration policy.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd joined Mr Swan in saying the latest growth forecast
presented new opportunities as well as challenges.
But a Labor backbencher said the nation was "sleepwalking into an environmental
disaster" and the Australian Greens said Mr Rudd needed to explain how population
growth would affect economic prosperity.
Mr Swan ruled out a further increase in the aged pension threshold, which is set to
increase to 67 by 2023 as announced in the last budget.
"No, we're not going to do that again," he told reporters after his speech.
Mr Swan gave a sneak preview of the government's next Intergenerational Report (IGR)
while launching the Australian Institute for Ageing Research at the University of
NSW on Friday.
"Our projections suggest that Australia's population could be larger and younger
than presented in previous IGR projections," Mr Swan said.
He intends to release the third IGR before the next budget.
He said the significant increase from 28.5 million by 2047 stated in IGR2 - released
in April 2007 - was largely driven by a greater number of women of childbearing age
and higher fertility rates, as well as an important contribution from immigration.
Mr Swan said the proportion of people aged 65 in 2049 - 22 per cent - would be
slightly lower than previously projected, while those aged 85 and over would
increase to 5.0 per cent.
Mr Rudd said the boost in population was all good news.
"I think that it's great that our population's growing," Mr Rudd told Macquarie Radio.
"So many countries around the rest of the world are shrinking, and that poses a real
problem in terms of having a strong tax base for the future and a strong economy and
a strong nation for the future."
But Labor backbencher Kelvin Thomson disagreed.
He said the projected increase in population would have a catastrophic impact on
native wildlife and make it almost impossible for Australia to meet its carbon
reduction targets.
"We've had tax reform, micro-economic reform, industrial relations reform. It is now
time for population reform," he said.
Mr Swan said that while it had been important to fend off the impact of the global
recession, it was crucial to get the budget back on a more sustainable footing to
deal with an ageing population.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown criticised Mr Rudd's enthusiasm for a growing
population, calling on the prime minister to explain how population growth would
affect economic prosperity.
"This population boom is not economic wisdom, it is a recipe for planetary
exhaustion and great human tragedy," he said in a statement.
The environmental campaigner pointed out that when Mr Rudd was born in 1957, the
world's population was three billion.
"There are 6.8 billion now. There will be nine billion by mid-century," he said,
adding economic growth needed to coincide with a steady population.
Social demographer Mark McCrindle said even the upgraded population forecast may be
conservative given the current record growth rate of 1.91 per cent.
"If our current growth rates remain constant, then Australia will almost double its
population by mid-century with a population exceeding 40 million," Mr McCrindle said
in a report.
"While an annual population growth rate of 1.91 per cent doesn't sound huge, it
equates to one new Canberra, two new Hobarts or three new Darwins per year."
National Seniors chief executive Michael O'Neill, while welcoming more research into
the ageing of the population, said more work needed to be done to overcome problems
of age discrimination.
"Government, business and unions must take up the challenge to remove age barriers,
address discrimination in the workplace and foster opportunities for participation,"
he said in a statement.