Ita Buttrose and Tom Tilley Talk Ageism in Australia

Much loved media icon and Older Generations’ Champion, Ita Buttrose today went head-to-head with the Gen Y host of Triple J's Hack program, Tom Tilley in an IRT Foundation Speaker Series event in Wollongong.

More than 150 people attended the sold out event, Mind the (Generation) Gap to hear Ita and Tom debate ageism in Australia. Renowned ABC Radio National journalist, Ellen Fanning, moderated some fiery exchanges and fielded questions from the floor and social media.

"We were thrilled to bring journalists of the high calibre of Ita, Tom and Ellen together to explore the issue of ageism from all sides," said IRT Foundation Manager, Toby Dawson. "Housing affordability, jobs and workplace relations were the hot issues of the day.

"Interestingly we discovered that Baby Boomers and Generation X are just as concerned about housing affordability as young people — worrying about whether their children and grandchildren will be able to buy their own home, and the impacts of financially supporting them for longer," he said.

"In regards to jobs and workplace relations, we agreed that people of all ages need to be supported to create jobs for themselves through entrepreneurship, and that reverse mentorships are a good way to achieve mutual respect and skills sharing in the workplace."

Mr Dawson said the event was designed to bring the generations together, to shift negative perceptions of ageing and provide opportunities for older Australians to age positively.

"I'm proud to say the event did just that — we had a bit of fun, Tom reckons Baby Boomers have a deep hate for the Gen Y Cafe Culture, while Ita says Gen Y and Z just want to be famous and 'have it all'.

"But on a serious note, we talked about how 'having it all' means different things to different generations, and will require people of all ages to join forces to create the political will for change...

"Change to capital gains tax and stamp duty, faster and better public transport, and more jobs for all," he said. "It's not an 'us' and 'them' — we need an Australia that provides prosperity for all, and we can only achieve that by working together."

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Photo by Josh Brightman L to R: IRT Foundation Manager, Toby Dawson, Ita Buttrose, Ellen Fanning and Tom Tilley.