There should be more emphasis on the quality of life statistics that have declined so markedly in the last decade: suicide, depression and the sheer cynicism of the media. (they aren't fooling everyone!)
With the internet and the emphasis on "training, training, training" we have a more educated and aware youth than ever before...but they are denied housing, career (part-time menial work is anti-career) and are expected to just accept the corruption.
We have regressive economics that rewards financial middle-men and entrenched corporations at the expense of the workforce and the nation as a whole. Real wages drop while housing inflation sucks the life out of the younger workers. I still can't believe that a credit driven "get rich quick" scam that is housing inflation is still seen as a such a good thing! Every million dollars made by not working has to be worked for by someone else! The economy is not limitless. Access to cheap housing and cheap finance is not available to the youth, so it amounts to generational theft.
Folks around 40 are the first generation to see a decline in lifestyle for a good half century. Single parent families, affordable housing, career potential...all became very scarce because of the change from progressive to regressive...from being a young, confident freedom loving society to being a cynical, "conservative" nanny state that mistakes wealthy old folk with wealth generation.
There needs to be an expose of the real statistical evidence out there that points to real issues of inequality and grossly unfair policy.

Quote from a friend: "Starting work life during the "recession we had to have" was a bit like having the rug pulled out from under you...well the rug hasn't stopped! It's more like a conveyor belt that accelerates as we get older."
From HECS to Superannuation (most stolen in fees in early years), to private insurance welfare, to housing bubble to the recent Howard's culture wars...some of us feel that we have been pretty much marginalised our whole lives. Those that waited to be in a stable home before kids...didn't have kids (but the bogan bonus got the "right" people breeding didn't it?)
I hear the scoffing already...but look at the stats folks...there is reality behind the perception behind the winge.
BTW. There was almost an honest moment from a politician the other day about prohibition. She admitted there was a "high threshold" to get such an obvious change through...a tacit admission that a 20 billion dollar black market *won't allow* good public policy that kills it's market. Big black business is just as powerful as big "legit" business.

Excellent but worrying article. Long gone are the days when you left school, maybe went to university, worked for a couple of years, travelled and came home to get married and buy a house in your mid-twenties and had a couple of kids by the time you were thirty. HECS and housing seems to be the killers and the latter is very much a function of rapid population growth. Stop the excess demand for housing from ever-growing numbers and it might become affordable. The European figures for youth unemployment are horrific. Let's hope it doesn't get that bad here.

Maybe if a few more got off their bums, left Byron Bay and moved West they would find untold opportunities. Untrained, unskilled and uneducated Kiwis are earning 130000 a year driving trucks! Who are the smart ones?

Yes the young will in all likelihood; be the first generation to be worse off than their parents.
Why, well blame Howard and billions shelled out as welfare for the rich? Blame visionless and patently corrupt state govts; all but welded to stamp duties and the ever cascading Granny killing GST; and the limited rezoning of urban land; and a negligible infrastructure roll out, leaving us with a shortfall, of around 80 billions?
All very affordable; if only the Howard hadn't handed back the proceeds of the first mining boom; to folks, who simply didn't need it.
Germany is the only European economy; that had the sound common sense; to keep its manufacturing economy, by investing in innovation. We on the other hand; listened to the elitist, know it all dilettantes, who seem apparently think that the mining boom; that currently keeps our economy from another Great Depression, will last indefinitely?
Think, when we were an economy that still made things, we were the third wealthiest in the world and a creditor nation to boot. Moreover, we had quite massive apprenticeship schemes in govt owned and run workshops and youth unemployment was almost unheard of?
One wage earning bread winner, was able to afford a house, a reliable car, annual family holidays, and feed, clothe, house and educate four children.
Yes, life was pretty basic; but, things were built to last; and our money was pegged to the gold standard, which made inflation all most impossible!
Consequently house prices remained virtually the same for decades?
Instead of the needed decentralisation, we concentrated on making our capital cities so large; that traffic is almost permanently gridlocked? Why, well house prices and or rents are always/always higher in larger cities; and, the larger they become so do house prices, rents and the stamp duties, most state govts collect!
Those fees and charges; they were supposed to forgo, in return for the ever growing revenue surety of Howard's, still hated GST?
If it wasn't broken, why did they have to fix it? Rhrosty.

Go west young people, As an employer in IT and Engineering in the Mining sector, just about all of the people applying for the jobs we are advertising is are from overseas. Too much of our youth will not live anywhere other then the inner city subs hunging the east coast. the youth need to move to where the jobs are not expect the jobs to come to them.

BTW popnperish the number peopl living the lifstyle you outlayed was always small.