Consequently, the ageing Australian population may still not be saving enough for retirement.

BBC: A pensioner at a post office

Although the Tamiflu-resistant strain is still relatively rare, affecting about 2% of people with swine flu in the Australian population that they studied, Dr Hurt is concerned that it has the potential to turn global.

BBC: Drug-resistant pandemic swine flu 'community risk'

"If we look at the total number of users that have been reported to us and consider we are only contacting a small portion of the Australian population, the estimation would be more than 100, 000, " he said.

BBC: Kournikova computer virus hits hard

"Given the very significant return that the Australian economy is getting from the region and the benefits that a large portion of the population are receiving, in my view this should be a whole-of-Australia problem, " he says.

BBC: Residents priced out of Australia's powerhouse port