Australians in their 30s have never had it tougher – paying higher taxes, grappling with sky-rocketing house prices and slugged with huge university debts.
That’s according to businessman and media personality Russel Howcroft, a regular panellist on the ABC’s Gruen Transfer program, who weighed into the who-had-it-worse generational debate in a viral video recently.
‘It’s true that 30-year-olds are going to be less well off than their parents,’ the 58-year-old said.
‘It’s a fact that when I was 30, the house cost me three times my salary. It’s now eight times plus for a 30-year-old to get into the housing market.’
Many Millennials and Gen Z seem to have all in terms of leisure and holidays – but abandoned hope of ever stepping on to the property ladder (young people pictured in Cronulla, Sydney, 2023)
Although Australia’s personal income tax rates were higher in the 1970s than today. Baby Boomers and older Generation X home owners – who bought houses when they were cheap in the 1970s and 1980s – benefit from not having to pay capital gains tax on their family home (cafe worker is pictured in Parramatta, Sydney,)
‘It’s true that HECS has doubled in the last 15 years. Right? Doubled. From a $15,000 bill to a $30,000 bill.
‘It’s true that a baby boomer, paid half the tax that a 30-year-old pays now when they were 30 years of age.
‘So the reality is, it is extremely difficult to be a 30-year-old in Australia right now.’
What Mr Howcroft said has a lot of truth to it.
When he turned 30 in July 1995, the median house price in his home city of Melbourne was $129,000 or 3.8 times the average, full-time salary of $33,961 – even before a mortgage deposit.
Now, Melbourne’s mid-point house price of $937,479 is 9.5 times the average wage of $98,218. Sydney‘s median house price of $1.442million is so dear a borrower would need to earn $221,840 to even qualify for a $1.154million loan.
Mr Howcroft, a Gen Xer, was also in his early twenties when Australia still had free education – which meant no tuition fees for undergraduate degrees.
Law degrees from a major Australian university can now conservatively cost in the six figures, leaving many graduates paying off a HECS or HELP loan before they can even think about buying a house.
Australia’s personal income tax rates were higher in the 1970s than today.
But Baby Boomers and older Generation X home owners – who bought houses when they were cheap in the 1970s and 1980s – benefit from not having to pay capital gains tax on their family home.
Russel Howcroft (pictured), a regular panellist on the ABC’s The Gruen Transfer, told the program it had never been harder to be a 30-year-old in the history of Australia
Higher taxes, sky-rocketing house prices and huge university debts are stifling younger generations (young people pictured in Cronulla, Sydney, 2023)
Mr Howcroft’s spiel about the challenges faced by young people sparked fierce debate after the clip was posted on the ABC’s TikTok page.
‘The Boomers climbed the ladder, but kicked it away as soon as they reached the top,’ one younger person commented.
‘Everyone says its difficult but no one’s helping us,’ a second said.
A third said: ‘I worked out today that despite putting nearly $8k towards my HECS in the last two years, the balance has only gone down $423.’
A fourth young Australian said: ‘Purchased my first home 5 years ago at 26. I could not purchase the same house in todays circumstances. Things are much harder now.
‘Once you get your house, it’s not smooth sailing. We are struggling to keep our homes, which NEVER happened to older people,’ a fifth commented.
It comes as new data reveals many young people are choosing not to have children amid the cost-of-living crisis.
More than half of 18 to 34-year-olds are choosing to remain child-free due to financial challenges, according to data from Australian research firm RedBridge.
Of the 2,000 young people surveyed, 35 per cent were found to be university-educated and just under half don’t own a home.
RedBridge director Kos Samaras said today’s youth are postponing life decisions that previous generations made without much thought.
The country’s birth rate was at a record low of 1.6 babies for each woman in 2022-23, well below population replacement level of 2.1.
Daily Mail Australia recently canvassed members of the boomer generation in Cronulla, in Sydney’s Sutherland shire, to see whether they really thought it was easier in their day – and whether they had any advice for their younger counterparts currently struggling to buy a home.
RedBridge director Kos Samaras said today’s youth are postponing life decisions that previous generations made without much thought (residents are pictured in Cronulla, Sydney, 2023)
New data reveals many young people are choosing not to have children amid the cost-of-living crisis (young people pictured in Cronulla, Sydney, 2023)
In our day you didn’t have bugger all. You didn’t carry around a phone with you or have a big flashy bloody watch – retired firefighter, Chris.
Chris, a retired firefighter who swims a couple of kilometres most days, owns a large two-storey home in Cronulla where he lives with nine members of his family.
‘When I started and got my house – I scratched (for money),’ he said.
‘And then rates went up to 18 per cent and it was even worse. Yes, they have got big problems these days but, Jesus Christ, we had it in the old days too.
‘It was really tough. I worked two jobs for thirty years, I started off on the beach as a lifeguard and used to work my two days off at a factory.’
Chris, who first bought a house when he was 28, later worked as a fireman where he would do four days of shift work before another four days at the factory.
‘Life isn’t easy: it wasn’t easy for us then and it isn’t easy for them now,’ he said.
‘But they are young and they can do it. Work two jobs. Work three jobs if you have to. My wife used to work as well as me. It was a struggle – it really was.’
He added: ‘They have got it harder in ways because there’s more toys to play with. It’s just a fact of life. In our day you didn’t have bugger all. You didn’t carry around a phone with you or have a big flashy bloody watch.’
The average house price in Australia is $933,800, about ten times the average salary (a resident in Cronulla, Sydney, is pictured)
I find the young people they want everything now. They want the nice house, the big car, the big pool and the big holidays. When we were growing up you used to say ‘save up for curtains. You used to sit on boxes – no furniture until you had the money to buy it – Carol
Marlene Vale, 73, bought a two-bed apartment ‘off the plan’ in Sutherland, south Sydney, in 1994 by herself where she still lives.
The retiree who but used to work in advertising, said she rejected the ‘negative’ idea that young people have the odds stacked against them.
‘I think in today’s world young people want it all at once. That’s not how life is. You’ve got to save. A lot of younger people prioritise holidays.’
Ms Vale worked as a receptionist at her local RSL on weekends for extra cash in her late forties.
‘It was unsociable hours but I got good money,’ she said.
However, she conceded that things were ‘very difficult for young people’.
‘Years ago things didn’t go up every year – you’ve got your water, electricity, gas. And also too, in today’s world you’ve got all the technology too.
‘We never had that – we had a landline and that was it. We never had the internet plan, the mobile phone plan, the Netflix plan and whichever other plan you’ve got which rakes up the bill per month.’
Childhood sweethearts Carol and Terry both agreed that the younger generation has a tougher time of it these days.
‘I think it’s hard – I wouldn’t want to be a young person these days,’ said Terry.
Terry, 76, bought his first property when he was 20 – a two-bed unit in St George, south Sydney, for $11,900.
His carpenter wage of $90 a week was enough to pay back the $7,000 loan on the house which he rented out while he lived at home.
The debate between generations has escalated in recent years as property prices skyrocket – largely benefiting the older generation (residents are pictured in Cronulla, Sydney, 2023)
Kids today go to school until they’re 18, then they want to travel overseas. By the time you are 23, 24 you haven’t got a zack in your pocket. It’s damn hard to get a start unless you’ve got a big job – Terry.
After buying and selling a few more places he and Carol, 74, purchased a place in Caringbah, south Sydney, for $90,000.
They demolished it and built their own house where they lived for 40 years and raised two children.
Two years ago they sold it for $2.4million and now they plan to live in a newbuild on the Cronulla waterfront.
They both agreed that many younger people had a different attitude now.
‘I find the young people they want everything now,’ said Carol. ‘They want the nice house, the big car, the big pool and the big holidays.
‘When we were growing up you used to say ‘save up for curtains’. You used to sit on boxes – no furniture until you had the money to buy it.’
Terry said that he started work at 15 and his mother encouraged him to save.
‘But kids today go to school until they’re 18, then they want to travel overseas,’ he said.
‘By the time you are 23, 24 you haven’t got a zack in your pocket. It’s damn hard to get a start unless you’ve got a big job.’
But Terry conceded that ‘every generation would say the same’.
‘My parents’ generation used to work six days a week. Sunday you would probably mow the grass with a push mower and have a baked dinner if you were lucky and that was it.’