The idea that Baby Boomers are to blame for many of society’s ills, including rent hikes and inflation, is “just bonkers”, according to an Australian academic.

Charles Sturt University public ethics professor Clive Hamilton told ABC Radio recently that Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) were being made the scapegoats for society’s ills.

His comments come as some older people – including Hollywood star Jodie Foster – are suggesting a lack of work ethic among Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012).

Professor Hamilton said Boomers were being blamed for everything from home rental hikes to inflation, because they were hoarding their wealth.

He said younger Australians were “looking for a scapegoat”.

“It’s hard to identify the problems in the system itself so they blame older people” he said.

“The idea that Baby Boomers are this rich, selfish, greedy generation who have sucked up all the wealth and who are keeping to themselves is just bonkers.”

Professor Hamilton said older generations had always accumulated wealth, simply because they had been in the workforce longer.

Meanwhile, Foster, who has two sons in their early 20s, told The Guardian that some Generation Z, or Gen Z, members are “really annoying, especially in the workplace”.

“They’re like, ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10:30am.’ Or, like, in emails, I’ll tell them this is all grammatically incorrect, did you not check your spelling? And they’re like, ‘Why would I do that, isn’t that kind of limiting?’”

Foster’s comments prompted the UK television program Good Morning Britain to run a poll, in which nearly 65% of its viewers agreed with the statement that young people are lazy.