Australians rate our country as the fourth best country in which to live. However, we are facing a series of challenges across the next decade that will have huge ramifications for our government, our businesses and our growing population. However, Rose Herceg, president of WPP, believes that we have a once-in-a-generation chance to address these issues and secure a better future.
Her assertion is based on a significant piece of research commissioned by WPP and conducted by YouGov, the results of which, she says, provoke entirely new ways of imagining our future.
“We are already a great country,” Herceg told B&T.
“But we need to be talking about 2035 now, so we can continue to grow into an even better Australia. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address issues that will ensure our future success – education, technology, health care, aging. Getting it right on these topics can ensure the best opportunities possible for our people and for the next generation. Business and government can work together to ensure that the best years as a nation are ahead of us.”
There are big plans already afoot for the country. The government’s Vision 2030 seeks to make Australia a more technologically sophisticated nation by the end of the decade. Plus, as Herceg noted, there will soon be more people older than 50 than at any time in the country’s history. This demographic shift, combined with looming geopolitical challenges and an increasingly digitised world beyond our shores leave the country with a choice.
“We can’t for sure know what 2035 will bring. But we can imagine a future based on what Australians are telling us they want. We can get ahead of the demographic shifts and trends based on fact and data, to set our country up for success,” said Herceg.
“We know what works for Australia. We also know where we can improve. We can take the data and the facts we have and use this to inform our future.
“For example, how can we make aging a great experience in this country? How can houses be designed usefully for all Australians? How do we address health issues as we age? How do we genuinely keep people in their own homes for as long as we can? What can we do about childcare? How can the private sector come to the party and innovate?”
Herceg, along with Katie Rigg-Smith, chief strategy officer of WPP, the ABC’s David Speers and UTS Professor of behaviour and social change, Ross Gordon, will attempt to answer these questions on stage at SXSW Sydney on Monday 14 October.
