Policy Dialogue on Intergenerational Equity

20 July 2026

9:00am (commencement of proceedings) - 4:30pm AEST

Molonglo Theatre, ANU, Canberra/Ngunnawal

Jointly hosted by CEPAR and the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA) at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, the Policy Dialogue will bring together academia, government, industry and the community to discuss intergenerational equity. 

For enquiries or to discuss your accessibility accommodations, please email cepar@unsw.edu.au.

JOHN PIGGOTT AO FASSA is Scientia Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School and Director of the UNSW Centre for Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). A leading authority on retirement, pension economics and public finance, his work is widely published in top international journals. He has advised governments globally, including a long-term collaboration with Japan on ageing policy. He has held visiting positions at institutions such as the Wharton School, and held a Rockefeller Residency in 2018. He has played key roles in international initiatives on ageing, including co-chairing the Think20 Task Force on Ageing during Japan’s G20 presidency, and as a Commissioner on the US National Academy of Medicine’s global roadmap on healthy longevity.  In Australia, he was a member of the Henry Tax Review Panel (2008-9) and the Australian Ministerial Superannuation Advisory Committee (2007-2011). At UNSW Sydney, he has held senior leadership roles including Head of School, Associate Dean (Research) and Interim Dean, and is the recipient of multiple awards, including the 2024 UNSW Business School Lifetime Achievement Award for Impact.

HAZEL BATEMAN Hazel Bateman is Faculty Academic Chair, and a Professor in the School of Risk & Actuarial Studies, UNSW Business School. She has expertise in pension economics, behavioural retirement insurance and lifecycle finance. Her current research investigates the role of choice and information architecture, financial advice and financial literacy on lifecycle financial decisions including superannuation and housing. She also works on design of and demand for retirement products including annuities, aged care insurance and reverse mortgages. Hazel works closely with the financial services industry, superannuation and pension funds and policy makers in Australia and internationally and has consulted to international organisations including the World Bank and the OECD. She is Chair of the Netspar Scientific Council, President of the International Pension Research Association (IPRA) and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension index and the Conexus Institute. In 2024 she was appointed to the board of UniSuper.

JAMES RICE is a sociologist in the Demography And Ageing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. He works at the intersection of sociology, economics, and political science, focusing in particular on inequalities in the distribution of economic resources such as income and time and how private and public conventions and institutions shape these inequalities. He is currently working on the development of a system of Australian National Transfer Accounts, based on methodologies developed by the global National Transfer Accounts project. His research has been published in journals such as the British Journal Of Sociology, Frontiers In Public Health, Perspectives On Politics, Population And Development Review, Science, and Social Indicators Research. A book - Discretionary Time: A New Measure Of Freedom - was published by Cambridge University Press in 2008 (with Robert E Goodin, Antti Parpo, and Lina Eriksson). This book was subsequently awarded the 2009 Stein Rokkan Prize For Comparative Social Science Research by the International Science Council, the University Of Bergen, and the European Consortium For Political Research

BRUCE CHAPMAN AO is an economist and has worked at The Australian National University since 1984. He has extensive experience in public policy, including: the motivation and design of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (the first national income contingent loan scheme using the income tax system for collection) in 1989; engagement with the empirical and conceptual basis related to long-term unemployment leading to the Working Nation program in 1994; as a senior economic advisor to Prime Minister Paul Keating, 1994-96; as a higher education financing consultant to the World Bank and the governments of Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Canada, the UK, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Malaysia, Colombia, the US, Chile and China, 1996-2013; as a consultant to the Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education on student income support, 2008; and as a consultant to the Australian Government’s Base Funding Review, 2011. He has published over 200 papers on a range of issues, including income contingent loans, long-term unemployment, the meaning of job flows data, the economics of crime, the economics of cricket, fertility, marital separation and government as risk manager. Over the last several years he has convened conferences, and written extensively, on the application of income contingent loans to a host of social and economic reform issues, such as for the financing of drought relief, low level criminal fines, elite athlete training, paid parental leave, white collar crime, community based investment projects, Indigenous business investment, and for taxing the brain drain.

RAFAL CHOMIK is a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the International Centre for Future Health Systems (ICFHS), a cross-faculty research centre at UNSW Sydney. He has worked as an economic advisor for the British Government, an economist at the OECD, and a consultant for UNESCAP, World Bank, APEC, and the Asian Development Bank. He specialises in social policy design, demographic modelling, household surveys, and analysis of health and economic inequality. He has spent the last decade working at CEPAR, as the Centre’s lead on research translation, focusing on producing and disseminating accessible, policy-related briefing papers that communicate academic insights to policymakers, practitioners, and the media.

MATT FLAVEL is the Deputy Secretary of the Social Security Stream, Department of Social Services. Matt joined the department in January 2020. In his current role, he is responsible for income support policies and programs that support families, carers, the aged, people with disabilities, students and apprentices, as well as people of working age. He also has responsibility for policy and programs relating to disability employment. He has also had responsibility for the department’s centralised data strategy and evaluation functions, as well as housing and homelessness policies and programs. Matt previously held a number of senior executive positions at the Department of the Treasury, including leading the delivery of the department’s corporate support and strategy, as well as key roles in the delivery of the Federal Budget and tax policy. He has also represented the Australian Treasury internationally, including a posting to Australia’s Permanent Delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Matt holds a Masters of Financial Management from the Australian National University, a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from the University of Adelaide, and a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning.

EMILY LANCSAR is the Chief Health Economist in the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - a role she commenced in April 2024. Prior to this, Emily was Head of the Department of Health Economics Wellbeing and Society at the Australian National University (ANU), and from 2020-2022 served as Associate Dean (Policy and Practice) in the College of Health and Medicine at the ANU. She is an economist with particular interests in valuing life and health, understanding and modelling choice, preferences and behaviour of key decision makers in the health sector, priority setting, economic evaluation and policy analysis. Emily has held numerous ARC, MRFF, NHMRC, MRC, ESRC, NIHR and EU funded grants and fellowships. She has been a member of a number of government advisory committees including the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) and the Economic Sub-Committee of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee from 2019-2023 and a member of the Evaluation Sub-Committee of MSAC from 2011-2021. She has been a member of a number of editorial boards, including as an Associate Editor of Health Economics and is a past Vice President of the Australian Health Economics Society. Prior to joining ANU, Emily was an Associate Professor in the Centre for Health Economics at Monash University. Joining Monash in 2011 represented a return to Australia after spending more than 7 years at Newcastle University in the UK where she held Senior Lecturer and Lecturer positions in the Department of Economics. Emily also previously worked at CHERE in Sydney and at the Federal Department of Health.

WARWICK McKIBBIN AO FASSA is Emeritus Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU). During his time at ANU, he has played a key role in building financially sustainable institutions that strengthen the contribution of academic research to public policy. He has also been a Professorial Fellow at the Lowy Institute, where he contributed to its design. Professor McKibbin served on the Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia from 2001 to 2011. He has also been a member of the Australian Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council and served on the Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Uranium Mining, Processing and Nuclear Energy. He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 for service to Australian society through economic policy and tertiary education and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2016.

ALAN AUERBACH is a prominent economist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in tax policy, public finance, and corporate taxation. After receiving his Ph.D. in economics, Alan Auerbach served as an assistant, then associate professor, of economics at Harvard University, and as a professor of law and economics at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and as the Deputy Chief of Staff on the U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation. He joined Boalt in 1994 and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Economics. Auerbach was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1999. In addition to teaching, Auerbach is director of the Robert D. Burch Centre for Tax Policy and Public Finance, a collaboration between the law school and the Department of Economics. The centre was established in 1994 by Boalt graduate Robert D. Burch to depoliticize economic policy and to support the thoughtful analysis of tax policy issues.

ROBERT BREUNIG is one of Australia’s leading Public Policy Economists. He has published in over 75 international academic journals in economics and public policy. Professor Breunig has made significant policy impact through a number of his research projects: the relationship between childcare and women’s labour supply; the effect of immigration to Australia on the labour market prospects of Australians; the effect of switching to cash from food stamps in the U.S. food stamp program and the inter-generational transmission of disadvantage. Professor Breunig’s research is motivated by important social policy issues and debates. His work is characterized by careful empirical study and appropriate use of statistical technique. Professor Breunig’s research agenda has led to many partnerships with government organizations in Australia and overseas. He works regularly with the Australian Treasury, the Department of Employment, the Department of Education, the Department of Industry, the Department of Communication and the Arts, the Productivity Commission, the Australian Bureau of Statistics as well as many other agencies. He has been a consultant to the private sector on marketing, mergers, bank competition and customer loyalty programs

SAGIRI KITAO is a Senior Research Economist at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. She is a leading macroeconomist whose research focuses on public finance, social security, demographic ageing, inequality, and fiscal sustainability, with a particular emphasis on Japan and ageing societies in Asia. Prior to joining GRIPS and ADBI, she held academic positions at the University of Tokyo, Keio University, the City University of New York, and the University of Southern California, and worked as a Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Sagiri received her PhD in Economics from New York University under Thomas Sargent and Gianluca Violante, and also holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. In 2016, she became the first woman to receive the prestigious Nakahara Prize from the Japanese Economic Association for her contributions to macroeconomics and public policy.

BLAIR EXELL is the Deputy Secretary for Social Policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC). He has been a senior leader in the Australian Government for almost 30 years, working across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region in social policy, health, international development, and foreign affairs. Prior to joining PMC, Blair was Deputy Secretary at the Department of Health and Aged Care, where he was responsible for Health Systems and Strategy, Health Economics and Research, First Nations Health, and the Office of Sport. He also spent more than four years in the First Nations policy space at the National Indigenous Australians Agency, including serving as Acting CEO. Earlier in his career, Blair worked for 24 years in foreign affairs and international development across the Asia-Pacific region. He began his career with non-government organisations in Cambodia and Vietnam before joining the Australian Public Service. Blair was the inaugural Australian Ambassador for Regional Health Security from 2017 to 2018 and served as Australia’s Board member to both the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) from 2017 to 2018 and the World Health Organization from 2022 to 2024.

RACHEL ONG VIFORJ is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow and John Curtin Distinguished Professor at the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance. She is also Managing Editor of Australian Economic Papers and Vice-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Network for Housing Research. Rachel's research interests include intergenerational housing concerns, housing pathways, housing affordability dynamics, and the links between housing and wellbeing outcomes. She has expertise in the modelling of housing outcomes and housing policy evaluations. Rachel has received numerous awards for research impact and excellence, including the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Influential Leaders Honouree, Young Economist Award and Berry Award for Excellence in Housing Research. Rachel is currently a member of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, CEDA Council on Economic Policy and the HILDA Survey External Reference Group. Within Curtin, Rachel has undertaken leadership roles as Chair of the School of Economics, Finance and Property's Research Committee, Deputy Director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Applied Economics. She has also served as acting Head of Department of Economics and acting Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Business and Law. 

NATHAN DEUTSCHER a Visiting Fellow at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. His research covers a variety of topics in labour economics and applied microeconometrics. Over the course of his PhD – supported by a Sir Roland Wilson scholarship – he worked with the Australian Taxation Office to produce Australia’s first intergenerational tax dataset. His research has since been published in leading general interest and field journals, including the Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Labour Economics and in Australia’s leading economics journal, the Economic Record. He also holds an appointment at the Department of the Treasury in the Australian Government, where he leads a team providing advice on strategic policy issues, and generating insightful analysis from microdata.  Past roles include two years providing advice on tax and transfer policy in the Treasurer’s Office.   

CASSANDRA GOLDIE AO is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and an Adjunct Professor at UNSW Sydney. She is a leading advocate for social justice, economic inclusion, and human rights, with extensive expertise in economic, social, and environmental policy, civil society, and inequality. Before joining ACOSS, Cassandra held senior roles across the not-for-profit and public sectors, including at the Australian Human Rights Commission, where she played a key role in national inquiries into pay equity and paid parental leave. She has also worked with the Darwin Community Legal Service and Legal Aid Western Australia. Cassandra has represented the interests of disadvantaged communities and civil society in major national and international policy processes, as well as through grassroots advocacy. She currently serves on the Federal Government’s independent Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee, the UNSW Law Advisory Committee, and the Australian Climate Roundtable. She is also Co-Chair of the ACOSS and UNSW Sydney Poverty and Inequality Partnership and a member of Chief Executive Women. Her leadership and advocacy have been widely recognised, including being named an inaugural Westpac/AFR 100 Women of Influence, an AFR/BOSS True Leader, and one of Australia’s top 50 Outstanding LGBTI Executives by Deloitte. In 2023, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to social justice through leadership and advocacy for marginalised and disadvantaged people.

RAMONA MEYRICKE is a senior finance and climate risk expert with more than 20 years of experience across insurance, government, superannuation, and investments. Her work focuses on understanding and managing climate risk to help businesses and communities build resilience and respond to the challenges and opportunities arising from climate change and the transition to net zero. Ramona works closely with government and corporate clients to identify, measure, and manage climate-related financial risks, with a strong emphasis on practical solutions and long-term resilience. She is Chair of the Actuaries Institute Climate and Sustainability Practice Committee, where she leads initiatives in thought leadership, policy engagement, and strategic action on climate change. Known for bringing together multidisciplinary teams across sectors, Ramona is committed to equipping organisations with specialist expertise in climate and financial risk to support informed decision-making and stronger outcomes. Ramona is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and holds a PhD in Financial Economics and a Bachelor of Science with Honours.

JENNY GORDON is an Honorary Professor at the Centre for Social Research and Methods, at the Australian National University, a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute and Chair of the Advisory Committee at the Centre for Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). Jenny was the Chief Economist at DFAT from 2019 to 2021, establishing the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) to bring together trade and investment economics with development economics. Jenny joined DFAT from Nous Group where she helped build their economic analysis service offer. Prior to this she spent 10 years at the Productivity Commission as the Principal Advisor Research. Jenny has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University and started her professional career at the Reserve Bank of Australia.

ANGELIA GRANT is the Deputy Secretary of the Macroeconomic Group in the Australian Treasury. This Group advises the Government on a wide range of matters of macroeconomic importance. This includes economic conditions and the economic outlook in Australia and internationally, macroeconomic policy settings, and structural trends, including those related to productivity and climate change. Prior to this role, Angelia was Australia’s G20 Sherpa, working alongside her G20 counterparts to forge a pathway for heads of government to successfully reach agreement at the G20 Leaders’ Summit and address major global challenges such as international financial stability, climate change and sustainable development. In addition to this role, she was the First Assistant Secretary of the Multilateral Economic Engagement Division in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and was responsible for leading a team providing advice on the G20, G7, APEC and multilateral trade. Angelia previously led the Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Division and the Macroeconomic Conditions Division in the Australian Treasury. She was also an Alternate Executive Director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, representing the Asia and Pacific constituency. Angelia has also previously worked as the Principal Economics Adviser to a former Treasurer, as an economics adviser in the Office of two former Prime Ministers, and as the Chief of Staff to a former Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer. Angelia was awarded a PhD in economics from the Australian National University in 2015.

ARUNA SATHANAPALLY joined Grattan Institute as CEO in February 2024. She heads a team of leading policy thinkers, researching and advocating policy to improve the lives of Australians. A former NSW barrister and senior public servant, Aruna has worked on the design of public institutions, economic policy, and evidence-based public policy and regulation for close to twenty years. Before joining Grattan, Aruna worked for the NSW Treasury for over five years, where she headed up analysis and advice across the macroeconomy division, state-owned corporations, state and commonwealth revenue, and health and justice reform. She led the 2021 NSW Intergenerational Report and led the economic analysis for the 2022 Women’s Economic Opportunities Review. Aruna previously practised as a senior lawyer in the Civil Regulation group at the Australian Government Solicitor and then as a barrister at 12 Wentworth Selborne Chambers, specialising in cases involving complex economic evidence. Prior to returning to Australia 11 years ago, Aruna worked at McKinsey & Company’s London office with a range of private and public sector clients. She holds arts (economics and politics) and law degrees from UNSW, where she graduated with the University Medal in Law, and two master’s degrees in law and a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Menzies Scholar and John Monash Scholar. She has published internationally in the field of constitutional design and human rights and was appointed in 2015 as external legal adviser to the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Human Rights. 

MICHAEL BRENNAN is the CEO of the e61 Institute. He is an experienced economic policy professional, having been a former Chair of the Australian Productivity Commission and Deputy Secretary of the Australian Treasury. He has also worked as a Deputy Secretary in the Victorian Treasury, and as a consultant as well as an adviser to Federal and State Treasurers and Ministers for Finance.