Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey says driverless cars will transform the lives of older Australians and boost productivity in the future, but changes must be made now to protect our quality of life.
Mr Hockey says the forthcoming Intergenerational Report will aim to start a conversation about how Australia will meet the challenges of having more retirees and fewer tax-paying workers.
Speaking at a business breakfast in Sydney, the treasurer said technology, not regulation, would create the economic growth needed to support Australia's high standard of living now and in the future.
Australian consumers were embracing technology and rejecting regulation, he said.
Mr Hockey said he had been thinking about driverless cars after a visit to his parents, who are in their 80s and want to maintain an independent lifestyle.
"They want to stay in their home, they want to go and visit the doctor and go down the shops," Mr Hockey said.
"The driverless car is going to completely change the way we go about aged care."
Mr Hockey said driverless cars would also help commuters driving from places such as the NSW Central Coast to Sydney be more productive.
The treasurer raised the self-piloting car - as yet only a concept vehicle - as an example of disruptive technology that powered economic growth.
Speaking to business owners of the Sydney Business Chamber, Mr Hockey said consumers were rejecting regulation by embracing technologies such as car-hiring service Uber.
"The consumer is marching against regulation, the consumer is marching against tradition," he said.
"We should not try to hold back the tide."
The treasurer said the Intergenerational Report - a five-yearly document looking at the demographic and financial pressures facing the nation - will be released in the next few weeks.
Describing it as "a compact between generations", Mr Hockey said it would not be like past reports but "a very genuine attempt by the Treasury, in an unprecedented way, to launch a conversation about Australia's future".
Asked if he would consider changes to the tax treatment of superannuation, Mr Hockey said the government had made a pledge not to change superannuation in its first term.
However, he said the Intergenerational Report would "stimulate a conversation" about whether the rules around superannuation were sustainable for the long term.
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