The Echidna: The boomers, united, will never be defeated

ACTU secretary Sally McManus made a fair point on Thursday, when she said Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe's fears of a wages-prices spiral after the minimum wage increase were unfounded. But the way she delivered the message - dismissing Lowe's comments as coming from "total boomer fantasyland" - was unnecessary, immature and insulting to the many thousands of baby boomers doing it tough right now. And it drowned out the substance of her commentary: "the workers' share of the overall economy is at the lowest level it has been since this has been measured, and that's back in the 1960s".

Before pressing on, a declaration of interest: The Echidna is a boomer. A late boomer, but a boomer nonetheless. To hear a Generation Xer in such an important position blithely dismiss and entire generation with the tired "boomer" epithet is disappointing. And coming from the head of the union movement, many of whose achievements were thanks to hefty campaigning by baby boomers, quite frankly galling.

Union boomers fought for maternity leave, gender equity, workplace safety, better conditions, penalty rates, fairer pay. They fought against apartheid and the Vietnam War. They fought to save Sydney's heritage. They fought against WorkChoices. These were real battles, not keyboard, #okboomer contests on Twitter.

Fanning intergenerational conflict - a largely media-driven invention - is not going to achieve positive change. It only serves to alienate one of the largest demographics in the country. With union membership falling from 40 to 14 per cent of the workforce since 1992, it's more important than ever for the ACTU to stay relevant. And McManus, of all people, would know union membership increases with age. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 23 per cent of employees aged between 55 and 59 were union members, rising to 25 per cent of employees aged between 60 and 64. That's a lot of boomers.

McManus did apologise in an afternoon tweet, saying she was trying to explain people were using the 1970s experience - when wage increases fuelled inflation - to scare people out of pay rises. She said she'd be more careful in future.

There's nothing new about generations blaming those who came before for the woes of the world, nor is bagging younger generations. We all remember that 60 Minutes interview with millionaire Tim Gurner, who said many Australian millennials would never own a home because they were spending $40 a day on smashed avocado on toast. His comment, taken a little out of context, went viral and inflamed the pointless millennial-boomer war.

It's past time we shelved the conflict and focused on finding solutions rather than reflexive name-calling.

PS: Fiona is out of action today. She dislocated her finger, not by heroically penning a cartoon but by drying her dog with a towel. Pete Broelman has stepped into the breach.

HAVE YOUR SAY: What do you think about the inter-generational wars? Do you find yourself having a beef with another generation? Was Sally McManus's onto something blaming boomers for the economic challenges millennials face? What are some of the good things boomers have done? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

- A debate has erupted between two Indigenous senators after Greens leader Adam Bandt made the controversial decision to remove the Australian flag from a press conference earlier this week. Country Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has labelled the move as "divisive", saying it detracts from issues of real concern. This comes after Greens senator Lidia Thorpe said the flag "has no permission to be here" in a heated interview with The Project's Waleed Aly on Wednesday.

- Consumers are warned to expect fruit and vegetable shortages at supermarkets for another six weeks, with supply expected to be back to normal by September. Acting chief executive of the National Farmers' Federation Ash Salardini says empty shelves can be directly linked to poor weather earlier this year in parts of northern NSW and Queensland.

- Severe housing shortages in regional Australia may start to ease, with people again moving from the country to the city as pandemic lockdowns lift, new data shows. A report from Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute found 4.6 per cent of internal population flow was movement from the regions to the cities in the first three months of the year.

THEY SAID IT: "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." - Robert Kennedy

YOU SAID IT: "I don't necessarily disagree with Bandt's comments on the flag and I too am looking forward to the day Australia becomes a Republic, but the current flag is the Australian flag that identifies who we currently are, so Bandt's actions are totally inappropriate and unacceptable." - Ian

"It was probably the wrong thing to do politically as it provoked a backlash but Bandt made a point that needs to be made - we need a new flag without the Union Jack in it." - Jenny

"What a dill! So much goodwill coming from the election result and now his pathetically childish behaviour suggests to us that Bandt is living in a fantasy world. As a Greens Supporter, I think this was an unnecessarily provocative and divisive gesture. Punching people in the face (metaphorically) is no way to bring people together." - David

"Bandt's motive was understandable but it was a bad tactic." - Ian

"Sorry, but if Mr Bandt has so little respect for the flag of the country in which he lives, perhaps he should leave Australia altogether." - Gail

"The removal of the Australian flag was indicative of Bandt's maturity and real thinking about inclusion. Flying the three flags together would have been an excellent representation of the original inhabitants of this land right through to the newest arrivals." - Jeanette

"Yes it is time to take the Greens seriously. And it is time the Greens stop presenting themselves as a 'small' party. They are now a significant force in Australian politics yet they are not projecting themselves as such. When the voting public perceive that they are better organised then they will firstly consider and respect them more ... plus vote for them in larger numbers." - Dave

"Well, Adam's gesture certainly upset The Echidna, as well as the traditional trolls and shock jocks. It seems a gesture is still only allowed if it doesn't actually cause any reaction or dare to state anything strongly or clearly. Pearl-clutching cliches about student politics aside, a gesture like this is precisely intended to create debate and disturb complacency." - Felix

"'Grow up' is the right phrase. I'm a lifelong Greens voter, republican, and new-flag-desirer, but even I can recognise that Adam Bandt was appallingly juvenile. Rightly or wrongly, people say that they, or their ancestors, "fought and died for/under that flag", and that is a strongly held belief. If we are ever to change the flag we need to bring those people along with us. We need to show respect for the current flag for the sake of those with that emotional attachment to it, while explaining why a new one is needed. In one act of stupidity Bandt has lost all credibility to have a leading role in that conversation." - Jason