Bernard Salt is an author, demographer, and since 2002 a regular

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

with ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' newspaper. Between 2011 and 2019 he was an adjunct professor at

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

Business School, and holds a Master of Arts from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

. A column in the '' Weekend Australian'' in 2016 earned him international reputation for supposedly blaming discretionary spending on

brunch Brunch is a meal, often accompanied by "signature morning cocktails" such as mimosas, bloody marys, espresso martinis, and bellinis, taken sometime in the late morning or early afternoon – the universally accepted time is 11am-2pm, though mod ...

food as a factor behind declining

home ownership Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family house, an apartment, c ...

among

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

. The column created a furore on social media, and sparked further debate on intergenerational

housing affordability Housing refers to a property containing one or more shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and human right, playing a crit ...

in Australia. The phrase " smashed avo" has since become a recurring

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

in Australia, and has been repeated overseas. Salt was awarded the Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in the 2017 Australia Day Honours. He was a partner of

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

until his retirement in June 2017, and still acts as a special advisor to the firm.

Books

* ''The Big Shift'' (2001) * ''The Big Picture'' (2006) * ''Man Drought'' (2008) * ''The Big Tilt'' (2011) * ''Decent Obsessions'' (2013)

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Monash University alumni Academic staff of Curtin University Australian columnists The Australian journalists Australian demographers Australian financial writers Members of the Order of Australia {{Australia-writer-stub