By Kat Wong in Canberra

The future of older and younger Australians are intertwined and pitting generations against each other will have consequences for all, experts warn.

As the Australian population grows older, ageism has proliferated – shortening life spans, contributing to elder abuse, or pushing willing employees out of the workforce.

Many overlook the issue because it does not yet affect them, or perpetuate it due to tensions between generations.

Age discrimination commissioner Robert Fitzgerald and World Health Organisation campaign consultant Marlene Krasovitsky acknowledged inequities between different age demographics in a joint address at the National Press Club on Wednesday but noted the need to unite on ageism.

“The consequential failure of our generation to deal with one of the most significant economic problems impacts both young people and us as old people,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“This is a generation who has continually failed to fix the tax system over 30 years, and the consequence of that is that we are a low-taxing, high-spending nation.”

For young people, this has worsened housing affordability and education costs, and for older Australians, this means many “quite rightly” will have to pay higher co-contributions for aged care, Mr Fitzgerald said.

This highlights the shared interests across ages and shows how addressing ageism will help everyone, Dr Krasovitsky said while calling on the government to establish Ageism Awareness Day.

“Today’s younger people are tomorrow’s older people … our futures are intertwined,” she told the press club.

“We’re not about cementing the privileges of old people at the expense of younger people … we cannot continue to define each other by age then pit ourselves against each other.

“Intergenerational solidarity brings great benefits.”