The big picture predictions are interesting, but more interesting still, is the solutions to the problems at the ground level.
No mention here, how the community will cope as individuals, with downward pressure on wages, upward pressure on housing costs, upward pressure on job security, and upward pressure on families juggling these pressures, impacting on relationships and standard of living, and staying intact in the process. It's life in the macro lane that matters in the end.

“I'm declaring 2016 the Year of Suburbia! Why? Because I think the penny will start to drop that the CBDs and inner cities are not the be all and end all of what it means to be 'urban.'”

Good to see a consultant making a realistic suggestion.

The grandiose plans of NSW Premier Baird are a case in point. Why is he spending billions on a new metro line from Sydney’s north-western suburbs to the CBD? Does he not realise that only a relatively small percentage of NW suburban residents travel from beyond Epping to the CBD to work and/or shop, and are already well catered for in any case? And why is the proposed metro line following the existing rail line from Epping via Macquarie, Chatswood, St Leonards, N Sydney to the CBD? There is no need nor justification for this duplication. Billions will be wasted -- there are far more pressing infrastructure construction needs.

If the Epping-CBD duplication is being planned because the metro has a different rail gauge to the existing line (which is indicative of poor planning for the metro), then the metro under construction should terminate at Epping and passengers change for trains on the existing NW suburban line.

And there’s more! Baird proposes to spend/waste hundreds of millions on a new sports stadium at Moore Park, bordering the CBD. Again, does he not realise that the centre of the greater Sydney metropolitan area is no longer the CBD, but now lies west of Parramatta? The latter would be the logical area for new stadiums should they be justified.

Given that Baird is supposed to have a financial background, it is surprising that he his big-noting himself by indulging in such financial expenditure irresponsibility.

If the family home can be sold to replace the pension, then what about health care bills, unemployment and or taxpayer funded education.

Perhaps the family home can be auctioned off to the highest bidder to pay a family member's unpaid university fees plus compound interest?

Of all nations we are one of the richest and best resourced with the lowest pension entitlements.

And the only reason this is so, is the way we look after the most privileged, when if we just eliminate all the rip offs and rorts that allow unbridled tax avoidance, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.

We talk about the destiny of demography as a problem without any conceivable solution?

And there's none for folks who think exclusively inside a fixed circle of spending cut ideas or tax increases just exclusively for the battlers or the most vulnerable, as we would with a 5% increase in the GST ,which after creating a new and massive churn would do little of any positive consequence!?

The 70 billions expended annually on just keeping state governments alive, would allow pensions to be doubled if we just eliminated entirely unnecessary middle tier governments.

And another 50+ if we removed counterproductive tax concessions in their entirety, on high end super?

Let's just stop with the farcical posturing that some rich folks will opt for a retirement as public funded pensioners, if we removed now completely unaffordable tax concessions?

Time we just stopped listening to the BS.

We'd liberate plenty of funding for social equity, with the repeal of negative gearing i.e., would likely fully fund the NDIS.

We have a huge suite of unexamined tax reform (real) and alternative energy choices that would not just decarb the economy, but turbocharge it into the bargain.

How come the Indians can grow their economy by as much a as projected 7.3% and we are limited to 2%?

All that's required is a rolling back of some of the quite clever avoidance along with some radical tax and energy production and distribution, plus poverty alleviation reform.
Rhrosty.

We have some 2 trillion in our super funds, yet most of this money is invested offshore?

Even so we remain one of the few nations yet to embrace popular thirty year self terminating, government guaranteed bonds. And access to that money would allow us to build the missing rapid rail links and the urban rail connections that would guarantee decent returns. And something we would own outright in just thirty years!

This preferred development, would all but guarantee massively overdue decentralization and a return to affordable housing.

Access to this huge pool of revenue, would finally allow us to pick and chose between foreign investors, and perhaps require them to take on Australian partners, relocate their H.Q. along with their tax liability and maybe qualify for Australian citizenship/permanent residence.

Something corrupt English businessman and convicted criminal Bond should have lost along with all his foreign born contempories. Winged keel or not!

Moreover, Australian self funded retirees are doing it hard with loss of income due to much lower interest rate returns and different tax treatment?

And could be guaranteed along with a veritable tide of foreign self funded retirees, to flock to reinvest their nest eggs in something that would guarantee a vastly improved return for the next thirty years, plus preferential tax treatment for the life of the instrument!?
Rhrosty.

Raycom, previous NSW governments were stupid to fail to spend billions on a new railway from Sydney's NW suburbs to the CBD. The relatively small percentage of NW suburban residents travelling from beyond Epping to the CBD is still a high number, is increasing, and is a much greater proportion of those doing high value work. And the existing transport infrastructure in the NW suburbs is far from satisfactory. Railway construction will promote suburban development too.

However, the decision to build it to a smaller loading gauge (the same rail gauge but smaller tunnels) was incredibly shortsighted. Even dumber is the plan to convert the Epping to Chatswood line. Far more sensible to terminate the metro trains at Epping until a more direct route to the CBD can be constructed.