Many people are discussing the issues surrounding mathematics at all levels of education. Politicians, parents, students, universities, education departments all have a view about what the problem is and all have ideas about what should happen. This article represents a synthesis of the issues and implications of one of the problems evident in mathematics education in Australia: the reduction in students taking the higher mathematics subjects that involve calculus. It makes particular reference to New South Wales (NSW) where it appears the problem has a critical edge as the number of students undertaking higher level mathematics subjects decreases and the number of students not taking mathematics increases.