Novotel Hotel, Brisbane CBD-8 October 2009

Professor Flavio Menezes, Head of the UQ School of Economics, in conjunction with the School’s Alumni Association, hosted an ‘Economic Implications of Ageing’ Seminar yesterday.

The seminar examined the impact an older population directly has on our social structure; what effect will an ageing population have on the number of places available for the elderly who require high care vs. low care, the effect on Medicare through more visits to GPs and the impact on hospital costs due to the need for longer, more intense care.   

“Over the coming decades Australia’s population will undergo considerable change with the significant increase in the proportion of older Australians. This ageing of the population will affect all aspects of our personal and community lives” explained Professor Menezes.

Three prominent UQ Alumni, the Hon. Santo Santoro, former Federal Minister for Ageing in the Howard Government; Mr Henry Ergas, founder and Managing Director of the Network Economics Consulting Group; and Mr Steven Hamilton, current UQ Economics Honours student contributed to the current debate, which attracted guests from major Queensland health care providers, private enterprise, and the public sector.

“Health care in Australia is at a crossroads and there is without a doubt support from both sides of the government for the need for radical reform.” Mr. Santoro said.

The seminar addressed the major issue of how to fund the needs of older Australians, given a rapidly ageing population, and a similarly rapid dwindling of the proportion of the population able to financially support such care.

As Mr Ergas noted, “In an ideal world, the role of public policy would be limited to establishing a framework where market forces could provide individuals with care choices that matched their needs, while also providing an effective safety net for those with little ability to pay”.   

For additional information on this event please contact our website www.uq.edu.au/economics

Presentations available in PDF (subject to Copyright conditions)
Henry Ergas | Professor Flavio Menezes | Santo Santoro | Steven Hamilton

From left: Henry Ergas, Professor Flavio Menezes, Santo Santoro & Steven Hamilton