andy jennings

"Perilous Republic" $US2.99 : available in all ebook stores  Future fiction starts with a premise. You make some guesses. In "Perilous Republic" I explore the world of Melbourne at the end of the 2020s.  There are some trends, some pressures that I think will be important. Let's start with demographics. As the population ages, we will get to the point where the majority of the population are beyond working age. This is a profound change and has far reaching consequences.  Political parties are in the business of winning elections. If they can do this by handing out money to the majority of old people, then I think they will. Where will they get this money? They might take it from the minority of working age people or they might borrow from the future, which is essentially the same thing. We already see the use of direct election bribes in the early 2020s. It's simple. It works. But in essence it's a violation of the social contract: it puts all of the he...

An extract from "2032" available now in all ebook stores. Fitzroy "Fitzroy." Jack said. "What?" "Clearance." It was enough of a novelty for them to be able to attend in person. The housing policy in action. Whole blocks of 5km square blocks were being cleared out for redevelopment. Today's target was Greeves Street by George Street in Fitzroy. Some compensation, although nothing near market rates. Then the bulldozers moved in and cleared it flat. There was sporadic resistance from the owners. In this space only a small percentage, less than 10%, actually lived in the houses they owned. Mostly the owners were distant, and reluctantly accepted the compensation. In a lot of cases the owners were overseas. Hardly likely to jump on a plane and lie in front of a bulldozer. The renters in the space were overjoyed: with a 50% cut in their rent, and funded relocation to one of the new developments. They held parties, feted the government...