Bernard Salt

Bernard Salt is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading social commentators by business, the media and the broader community. He is the Managing Director of The Demographics Group, and he writes weekly columns for The Australian that deal with social, generational and demographic matters.

@BernardSalt

Latest

the cycle of life

Happy Birthday years. 40 anniversary of the birthday, Candle in the form of numbers. Vector illustration

The roaring 40s: why this is the decade of your life

It can be a decade filled with the joys of family life. For others it can be a time of great reckoning, if youthful dreams simply didn’t work out. We’re talking, of course, about one’s forties.

COMMENTARY

rear view woman at climate change protest fridays for future holding no planet b sign in front of big crowd at demonstration, shallow focus, background blurred

Why do we ‘tackle’ climate change?

We fall in love, we are gripped by fear, we are consumed by jealousy, we drown in debt, we are driven by lust. Hidden-meaning word-pairings are everywhere.

Commentary

Aerial view of Bondi Beach with the Sydney CBD in the background.Escape 28 April 2024Why I Travel - Carla OatesPhoto: iStock

Listen up: home is where the smart money is

Young Australians! I say to you, holiday in glamorous global hotspots or do a gap year in London or Paris but invest your prime property career years here if you want the best prospects.

COMMENTARY

Retirement, investment and couple on laptop and paperwork for online, digital banking application planning pension. Elderly people doing asset management, check contract information, finance or will

If we live 100-plus years, life will need a rethink

The average Australian born today can expect to live well into the 22nd century. But what does that mean for work – and marriage?

COMMENTARY

Adult woman female hand pulling out Australian money from a leather wallet.

Cash was king, woke wasn’t a thing: looking back to 2010

We made cars in Melbourne and Adelaide. We were debating the merits of a Big Australia. To predict our future, we first need to reflect on the last 14 years.

COMMENTARY

Crowd of people walking over the crosswalk at sunset. Sydney, Australia

Fertility rates are plummeting — fortunately, we have migrants

Australia’s fertility rate today is half what it was at the peakof the baby boom, with single-child households and childlessness more socially acceptable options now than a generation ago.

COMMENTARY

Student university standing with his back to the camera and his backpack on one shoulder and walking in university campus, education concept. Young man walking down street with a backpack. Back view.

Is it time to stop encouraging kids to go to university?

The past 25 years have been the era of the university and knowledge worker. But Australia – and its needs – are changing.

Property

Three generations and a global pandemic later, and once again we are confronted with a post-war-scaled shortage of labour and housing and especially of affordable housing in capital cities.

We’ve done it before so let’s make housing cheap again

Australia found a solution to the post-war housing crisis and we can do it again to an even higher standard of living in a model that can be rolled out across Australia.

COMMENTARY

Illustration showing a boss reprimanding subordinate with online communication. Source: iStock

Let’s talk about bosses: the good, the bad and the ugly

Good bosses are fair and honest; they communicate clear standards; they are, or can be, inspirational. What makes a bad boss? Well, you tell me.

REMEMBERING MUM

Mum’s the word: It’s a relationship like no other

To have a mother who is loving and communicative across your forties, fifties and even into the sixties is a precious gift. I cannot fathom the pain felt by those who are denied this experience.

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/bernard-salt