Diana Olsberg has seen the intergenerational conflict between the baby boomers and Generation X in all its inchoate rawness.

But even she was surprised when, at a recent conference, a man in his early 30s stood up and asked her what he could do to stop his parents spending their money. 
"The thing was, he considered the question entirely appropriate," said Dr Olsberg, head of the schools of sociology and anthropology at the University of NSW. 

Discussing the findings of her national survey of 7000 Australians aged over 50 at an aged services conference on the Gold Coast on Monday, Dr Olsberg said the older boomers, now turning 60 and emboldened by their increasing numbers, have an entirely new shift in terms of priorities and values. 

"They have a desire for flexibility, a high standard of lifestyle, the knowledge they will need all the money they have to maintain their independence, control and autonomy, and will, in all probability, leave little money or assets to their children, because they're going to be alive for a long time," she said. 

Dr Olsberg identified two generations of boomers. Those turning 60 she calls the "It's time" generation, after Gough Whitlam - their era had low interest rates, employment, and affordable housing - and the younger ones, the "Banana Republicans", after Paul Keating - they saw the beginning of disillusionment, increasing interest rates, the huge house price hike and increased unemployment. 

The older boomers, and what she calls the "young old" - those between 60 and 75 - are not prepared to hand over the family house and disappear into a retirement village and shut up, she said. 

"They are either moving to places known as 'intentional communities', where they have friends with common interests, (or) if they do opt for a retirement home, they'll be calling the shots, not management." 

There are angry murmurings among the Xers. They want the boomers to make way for them, and yet continue to support them. "What about me?" is their catchcry. Some "children" in their 30s still live at home. One person Dr Olsberg interviewed said she and her husband were selling the house because it was the only way to get rid of the kids. 

The boomers think the young are far too profligate: they're always out, even to breakfast, and have plasma televisions and iPods and still expect their parents to contribute. 

"The demographers have been talking about an ageing society for 30 years," concluded Dr Olsberg. "But the policy-makers seem only in the last year to have realised it is upon us, and the prevailing attitude among this society is to put themselves first after years of hard work, and not give up their independence and move in with the children." 

Examples of the feedback she received are: "We were frugal but now it's time to have what we want, and that's not to be the useful babysitter." And: "Never in a million years would I consider moving in with my son; one of us would be jailed for murder." 

Dr Olsberg warned: "We have to remember, the average lifespan in 2006 has been calculated as 83 years - in the 60s it was71."

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