Will Richardson’s Vision

I’m from Yarraville, Victoria, which is Boonwurrung and Woi Wurrung country. I am Managing Partner of the Giant Leap Fund, an impact venture capital fund. My mum was born in Malaysia and my Dad in Australia — his family originally hails from England and Scotland. I live with my wife and love of my life, Melanie, and our two children Arlo and Mae in a weatherboard home on a quiet street.

In 20 years’ time, our son and daughter will be 24 and 21. The Sun Theatre is the heart of Yarraville village, and since 2012, the street outside the theatre has been blocked off to cars and covered with astroturf as a place for people to meet, eat, drink and play. By 2040, all of the shop-lined streets in our village have become car-free, and covered with native grasses, plants and trees.

Beyond my immediate neighbourhood, the world has become a very different place. The practices of Indigenous Australians have been recognised as integral to our region’s culture, and now all young Australians undergo a right of passage overseen by community elders when they reach age 21. My youngest is preparing for this, and I look forward to accompanying her on her right of passage.

A change in our practices around work, and acknowledgement of past traditions, has seen a sharp drop in mental health issues. Where there are problems, they are met with compassion and care, rather than stigma. Addiction, while rare, is also managed in the same manner. Hospitals have been rebranded as places of care and healing rather than places of illness. The new average lifespan has increased from around 80 years old to over 100. People are having less children, by choice, and the population in Australia has naturally declined.

Thanks to COVID-19 showing the world the value of remote work, humans are naturally more scattered. Technology has helped us tame the most extreme parts of the planet. Snow-capped mountains, the ocean floor and even deserts now support human life. The negative impact of people being concentrated in cities has been reduced, as human habitation has dispersed across the globe. Younger generations and the adventurous at heart are drawn to these new habitats. Our son is a DJ living in a pod in the Caribbean Sea recording ocean sounds for his newest record.

All energy is clean, and all travel is done via driverless taxi cars — nobody owns a car. Larger trips are undertaken using magnetic energy, and travel times have been reduced exponentially. You can travel from Melbourne to LA in an hour. There have been giant leaps in our understanding of the complex web of life, and how things interrelate, and as a consequence, life is more secure for future generations and the planet as a whole.