Australia Could See More People Reach Their 90s

The new forecast comes from Treasury’s intergenerational report.

It looks many years ahead.

It shows a big change.

A big change in how long people may live?

What are the main numbers?

For women, life expectancy at birth may reach almost 90 by 2065 or 2066.

For men, it is forecast to rise to 86.

That is a clear rise.

What is driving that change?

Officials point to two main things.

Universal healthcare and medical research.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said both have helped lift life expectancy.

And he also talked about health spending?

What did he want more of?

He said the government wants more investment in Medicare.

He also wants more investment in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

So the report is about more than people living longer.

Did it say anything else about the future?

Yes, it did.

It also says artificial intelligence will be a defining influence on the economy.

But Mr Chalmers warned that AI also brings very substantial risks.

That is a lot for one report.

What about the population itself?

The population is expected to be slightly lower by the mid-2060s.

That is lower than in an earlier forecast.

Growth is also expected to slow.

Why is growth slowing?

Is it because of family size?

Yes.

Women are having fewer children.

Mr Chalmers said many mothers are having children later in life.

So fewer children now, but more older people later.

That is a big planning problem for any government.

It is.

The report says the country will need care, health, and money.

It also says the government is trying to make family choices a little easier.

So it points to childcare support, paid leave, and higher super payments.

Thanks, Grace.

In Britain, Chiltern Railways is now back in public ownership.

Now we go to Noah, our LinguaWire correspondent for business.

Thanks, Daniel.

This is a big change for one rail line.

Chiltern Railways has been run as a private company for 30 years.

Now it is the 10th rail company under Great British Railways.

So this is not just a name change.

What will passengers actually notice?

Officials say there will be 25 extra daily services from December.

They also say the new weekday services will add 10,000 extra seats.

On the Chiltern Main Line, weekday services should run every half hour.

That sounds useful for busy trains.

Was the first day smooth?

Not completely.

There was some disruption on the first day.

Chiltern said the line between Birmingham and Marylebone was expected to be much busier.

That was because of late notice about a West Coast Main Line closure.

So one problem on another line pushed more people onto Chiltern.

What did the company do about that?

It said it would run more trains than usual.

It said it would give significantly better space for passengers.

It also said the new trains should improve accessibility and Wi-Fi.

And there is a small rule change for cancelled trains too, right?

What should passengers know?

Yes.

From Sunday, if your train is cancelled, you can use another operator’s service.

That works two hours either side of your train time.

And there is no extra cost.

That is a practical change for commuters.

What comes next for public ownership?

The aim is for Great British Railways to run all passenger services by 2027.

Great Western Railway is next.

A move is planned for 13 December.

So this is one step in a bigger rail plan.

Let’s look at three useful words.

life expectancy

It means the years people are expected to live. In the story: “life expectancy at birth was forecast to reach almost 90.” Example: Good food and exercise can help life expectancy.

forecast

It means a future guess based on facts and numbers. In the story: “The new forecast comes from Treasury’s intergenerational report.” Example: The weather forecast says it may rain tomorrow.

investment

It means money put into something to help it grow or improve. In the story: “The government wants more investment in Medicare.” Example: The town needs investment in better buses.

life expectancy at birth was forecast to reach almost 90

We use was in the past simple passive for a past report.

The report was released yesterday.

The new seats were added in December.

life expectancy at birth was forecast to reach almost 90

The train line was opened for public use.

Repeat after me: life expectancy at birth was forecast to reach almost 90