Dear guys,
A couple of relevant articles.
Cheers,
Sunstone.
Millennium kids face brave new world
Kim Sweetman
22jan05
IT seems just a moment past that the world welcomed the new millennium, but for some it was a lifetime ago.
Jett Day, now 5, was the first baby born in Queensland on January 1, 2000. He arrived five seconds into the new year and was even presented with a certificate to prove it.
His second big day arrives on Monday when he and 54,000 other millennium babies start school for the first time, either in Year One or in the new Prep year.
Households will spend this weekend in a state of half-calm, half-anxiety as their little ones prepare for a whole new world.
Jett and his cohorts are likely to have their entire lives measured by the milestones of the 21st Century. They will reach their 21st birthdays when Australia is predicted to run out of adequate supplies of fresh drinking water.
In their child-bearing years they may witness the first person to set foot on Mars.
By the time they're planning their 50th birthdays scientists fully expect them to be able to take advantage of medical techniques to virtually reverse the ageing process. Jett's generation may have to plan for an old age that will take them past their 120s.
But for now, they just need to get that reading and writing thing sorted.
http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,12011609,00.html
Old and single, welcome to 2005
A snapshot of Australian life shows massive changes in society over the past century. But are we better off? Amanda Watt reports
22jan05
OLD, single and childless?
That might have made you a social outcast last century but in 2005 . . . join the club.
A national snapshot of life released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed a rapidly ageing population – one which has turned its back on the usual early life milestones of marriage and children.
The 2005 Yearbook studies career, health and lifestyle trends over the past century – and changes have been huge.
Increased life expectancy – from 55 in the early 1900s up to 95 by 2051 has caused Australians to take their time when it comes to settling down. Marriage rates are at an all-time low and women are taking longer to have babies, if at all.
The average number of children per female has plummeted to 1.76 compared with four in the early 1900s.
Childless couples are expected to overtake couples with children as the most common family type within five years. Single parents are also on the rise.
And we are working longer and earning more.
More people are in the labour force with more than a third of all workers clocking up regular overtime.
Cancer and heart disease remain the big two killers but the rate of deaths from these has decreased by 10 per cent and 41 per cent respectively over the 10 years to 2002.
We are also less likely to die in a road crash.
Despite the falling fertility rate, the population – currently hovering at around 20 million – is expected to reach 26.4 million by 2050.
Queensland is taking the brunt of the increase.
In 2002-03 the Sunshine State recorded the fastest and largest population growth, with an increase of 2.3 percent.
Brisbane was the fastest growing capital between 1998 and 2003, increasing by an average of 2 per cent every year.
So great is the migration to Queensland that it is expected to overtake Victoria as the second largest state within 50 years, behind NSW.
And we could be turning to wine to deal with the rapid changes – domestic wine sales have increased by almost 30 per cent in the 10 years leading to 2002-03.
ABS information services chief Steve Matheson said whether all those changes meant people were happier could possibly be judged by the statistics on health. "In 2001 we found that for people 15 years and over, 82 per cent reported their health status as good, very good or excellent, which could be seen as a good indicator of the level of happiness," he said.
"If people aren't happy they'll start to get unhealthy or it will start to affect their mental health."
http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,12011709,00.html
