from the SMH …..

A report and the spin - now read on

Ross Gittins

April 4, 2007

Peter Costello's latest campaigning on the ageing of the population, with his newly updated Intergenerational Report, is a strange mixture of information and disinformation. The information comes mainly from the report itself; the disinformation comes from what he says about it.

Since few people read the report, but we can't help hearing what the Treasurer has to say, most of what you think you know about the subject is probably wrong.

For a start, the man who coined the catchphrase Demography is Destiny, claimed that "the ageing of the population and the changes it will bring remains the biggest economic challenge for Australia over the medium and long term". That's true only if you've never heard of global warming - or you're hoping that if you ignore it, it'll go away.