Good policy is a choice | Between the Lines
The Wrap with Greg Jericho
Governments can change the country for the better or worse. Failure to act for 26 years on housing affordability has left many Australians renting for most of their adult lives and led to for the first time since WWII, most Australians in their early 30s not owning their own home.
The path to undoing the damage will be long. But the changes made by the government in the May Budget have had an immediate impact. Finally there is hope that no longer will the housing market be treated as a place to increase wealth rather than a place to find a home to live in and grow a family.
This week it was reported that investor loans by Westpac had fallen 20% in the month, and a property investor bemoaned to a business conference that “these tax changes are a status war. They are killing residential investment and encouraging owner-occupier demand”.
Oh gosh, a government doing something to help home-owners rather than investors?!
Yes, it is possible, and that’s why we keep pushing for changes that make the economy fairer and our society better.
Good policy is a choice, and it’s why we keep pushing for better choices.
For 26 years, we pushed for housing policy that put people before investors. This year, we finally broke through. We now have reforms that will make housing more affordable by reducing enormous tax concessions that deepen intergenerational inequality.
That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because researchers and supporters like you challenged the status quo and shifted the public debate, so governments had the courage and public support to act in the national interest.
But already powerful interests, like the investment lobby and a sympathetic media, are pushing back to reverse our progress – and protect a broken system that benefits the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
With you on our side, we’ll keep the torch alight for a fairer Australia where home ownership is a reality, not a pipe dream. That comes from the unglamorous slog of doing the work – even if it takes 26 years.
Will you help us continue to take on vested interests and turn good ideas into lasting government policy by donating to our EOFY appeal? Your support funds the economists and policy experts who build the evidence base making change like this possible – and hold the line when the pressure to reverse course inevitably comes.
With your help, we’ll keep pushing for an economy that works for ordinary Australians, not just the wealthy and powerful.
— Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at The Australia Institute
All donations over $2 to The Australia Institute’s End of Financial Year Appeal are tax deductible.
The Big Stories
72 billion reasons to hold a plebiscite on a gas export tax
The Australia Institute is calling on the federal government to hold a national plebiscite on a gas export tax.
Polling shows the vast majority of Australians want a fair return for their gas.
Unions, community groups, charities, crossbench MP’s and business leaders are calling for a gas export tax.
Research by The Australia Institute reveals that if the Albanese Government had introduced a gas export tax after it was first elected, it would have raised more than $70 billion by now.
New push to outlaw lies in NSW politics ahead of next election
Dishonest political campaign advertisements – like those falsely claiming a party will introduce a new tax or cut a government service – could be outlawed in time for next year’s NSW election, if a new petition is successful.
The petition to the Legislative Assembly is calling on the NSW Parliament to implement truth in political advertising laws, like those already in place in South Australia.
If the petition reaches 20,000 signatures from NSW residents, MPs will debate the issue in Parliament — opening the door for reforms to be introduced before the next state election, due in March next year.
The petition is an initiative of NSW resident Michelle Millner and The Australia Institute, with independent MLA Jacqui Scruby as its parliamentary sponsor.
How to put a roof over the heads of thousands of Australians sleeping rough, couch surfing or living in their cars
With the number of Australian households at risk of homelessness surging towards a million, it’s estimated that governments will need to build 47,000 social and affordable homes each year – at a staggering cost of $18 billion annually.
A flat 25% gas export tax, as proposed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, could raise more than $17 billion a year, which could put a roof over of the head of almost every Australian experiencing housing stress.
“Governments have choices about how they raise and spend our taxes. They could go a long way towards ending homelessness in Australia by imposing a 25% tax on gas exports, and spending it on housing,” said Skye Predavec, Researcher at The Australia Institute.
If the Howard government had implemented Angus Taylor’s tax indexation policy, Australians would be $147 per week worse off now – new analysis
New analysis by The Australia Institute reveals that if the Howard Government had introduced the current Liberal policy of indexing tax brackets to inflation to counter bracket creep, Australians would be paying significantly more tax today.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor announced the policy in his budget reply speech last month, declaring bracket creep was a “stealth raid on Australians working hard to get ahead” and that by failing to index income tax thresholds with inflation was a form of “stealing” from taxpayers.
The Australia Institute has calculated how indexation would have impacted Australians if John Howard and Peter Costello had introduced it when they were elected in 1996.
Australians support stronger whistleblower laws, while Labor drags its feet
New polling conducted for The Australia Institute reveals 9 in 10 Australians support stronger legal protections for whistleblowers. The poll of 1502 people, conducted by YouGov, also found 8 in 10 voters support the creation of a Whistleblower Protection Authority.
The research, supported by the Human Rights Law Centre and Whistleblower Justice Fund, shows support for better whistleblower protections hit a record high level last year and has increased even further in this new poll.
It comes as the CEO of KPMG Australia quits over his mishandling of a whistleblower request, while the federal government continues to drag its feet on releasing a long-awaited second tranche of whistleblower reforms.
Proposed NDIS changes risk leaving Australians with life-limiting illnesses without essential support, peak body warns
Australians living with life-limiting illnesses could be left without access to essential disability supports under proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), according to Palliative Care Australia (PCA).
The national peak body was one of 4,500 to lodge a submission to a Senate inquiry examining the Albanese government’s cost-saving reforms, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers has argued are “all about saving the NDIS from itself”.
The proposed amendments would introduce tighter eligibility requirements to cut down participant numbers by more than 240,000 over the next four years, in a bid to reduce projected spending to $55 billion a year by 2030.
The Win
Hundreds attend Kath & Kim-themed pro-Palestine fun run protesting Queensland hate speech laws
More than 200 Palestine supporters have dressed up in Kath and Kim-inspired activewear for a Brisbane fun run, with some risking arrest to raise funds for a High Court challenge to Queensland’s hate speech laws.
A number of participants donned running bibs that featured the phrase “from the river to the sea”, one of two expressions declared prohibited by the Crisafulli government earlier this year.
Organisers said the event was a “creative act of defiance” against “censorship and the criminalisation” of Palestine solidarity in Queensland.
The Bin
$368 Billion AUKUS deal labelled ‘absurd’ as scrutiny intensifies over latest changes
Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended the $368 billion AUKUS submarine pact, telling Parliament that Australia’s acquisition of a second-hand fleet was a “good financial deal”.
This month he revealed Australia would receive three used Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines, rather than the previous arrangement, which involved two second-hand and one new vessel.
“To be frank, this is what we wanted and what is now going to happen is a great outcome for Australia,” Mr Marles said.
The trilateral security deal is facing scrutiny on multiple fronts, with internal Labor divisions surfacing alongside the launch of a public inquiry into the trilateral defence agreement.
The Quote
“Fossil fuels are making us sick, and we’re paying them to do it.”
– Louise Morris, Advocate at The Australia Institute, discusses how Australia continues to greenlight new coal and gas projects even as its medical professionals sound the alarm.
Podcasts
The impact of the government’s massive NDIS cuts | Dollars & Sense
Greg Jericho and Elinor Johnston-Leek discuss the latest house price data and the ongoing fearmongering around the changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing. Then, Greg shares the positive impact NDIS funding as had on his family – and what it could mean if the government’s proposed cuts pass through the parliament.
Listen now:
Jane Caro on the battle for public education | Follow the Money
On this episode of Follow the Money, recorded live at Politics in the Pub in Canberra, Jane Caro joins Dr Alice Grundy to discuss how Australia came to the most expensive place in the developed world for families to send a child to high school and Jane’s essay for Australia Institute Press, Rich Kid Poor Kid: The battle for public education.
Listen now:
SPECIAL | Why it’s time for a public inquiry into AUKUS | After America
On this special episode, Dr Emma Shortis is joined by Leanne Minshull and Karina Lester, two commissioners from the new community-led, independent inquiry into the AUKUS security deal.
Listen now:
What’s On
Politics in the Pub: Safeguarding the fossil fuel industry?
Wednesday 24 June | 6:30pm AEST | Verity Lane Market & Online
As the Federal Government prepares to review the Safeguard Mechanism in 2026, major questions abound about whether Australia’s flagship climate and emissions policy is reducing pollution – or just allowing fossil fuel companies to keep polluting through so-called carbon offsets.
Join Associate Professor Fergus Green, University College London and Dr Richard Denniss for a timely Politics in the Pub discussion exploring the future of climate policy and the growing controversy surrounding carbon credits and offset markets that the Safeguard Mechanism relies upon.
Tune into the livestream here.
At Sea with Y.M. Abdel-Magied
Friday 26 June | 4pm AEST | Online
In Partnership with Canberra Writers Festival, join Y.M. Abdel-Magied as she discusses her new book, At Sea.
Being one of the boys was one thing. Being the boss of the boys was something else altogether.
Expert driller Zainab is called to take charge of a high-stakes oil rig operation. Unable to resist the opportunity, she leaves behind her pregnant sister and heads offshore for the job of her life. But there’s a catch. The rig is teetering on the edge of disaster – and Zainab is the only woman amongst a crew of hardened men who want absolutely nothing to do with her.
As tensions rise and secrets unravel, Zainab races to uncover the truth bubbling below and fend off the looming catastrophe. Explosive and thought-provoking, At Sea is an exhilarating story about the clash of ambition, principle and prejudice, and the unexpected consequences of our choices.
Politics in the Pub: The Case for Taxing the 1%
Wednesday 1 July | 6:30pm AEST | Verity Lane Market & Online
Join the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Larissa Waters, and The Australia Institute’s Deputy Director, Ebony Bennett, as they discuss the current state of Australian politics, the need for a fairer economy, and the growing momentum behind the campaign to ‘Tax the 1%’.
The evening will be an opportunity to hear directly about the party’s plan to raise more revenue from the wealthiest Australians and large corporations to fund better public services.
After the landslide: One year on from the historic 2025 election
Thursday 9 July | 11am AEST | Online
Last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the Labor Party to a historic victory, winning a landslide for his second term. The Liberal Party suffered its worst result since World War 2. But with the rise of One Nation at home and crisis abroad, the world already looks very different to how it did in May last year.
Join The Australia Institute co-CEO Richard Denniss, Chief Political Analyst Amy Remeikis and Democracy Director Bill Browne as they discuss what’s changed in Australian politics since the last election and where it might go from here.
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