From the AFR:
Our politicians have dug themselves into deep trenches from which they fire insults designed merely to cause political embarrassment. Populism supplies the munitions.
And the whole spectacle is broadcast live via multimedia, 24/7. The country that Australians want cannot even be imagined from these trenches.
…Based on current estimates, Australia needs to build a city for two million people every two years or a city the size of Melbourne or Sydney every decade yet the only plan seems to be “stuffing” more people into Sydney and Melbourne
- Apolitical infrastructure planning and pricing, including the widespread use of road user charging;
- A much lower company tax rate;
- The removal of stamp duties on residential property;
- Symmetrical tax treatment of interest and capital gains;
- An overhaul of state-based royalties;
- Market-based price signals to guide climate change mitigation;
- A broader base and higher rate of GST;
- A substantial adjustment to roles and responsibilities between the Commonwealth and the states.
A pretty good start, much of it recycled from Dr Henry’s Review. The key to getting this done is to frame it as an overall tax reform package that seeks to shift the burden off productive investment and labour within a framework of mutual sacrifice to repair Australian competitiveness. That means you’re going to have to make the package progressive by adding income tax cuts for lower paid workers.
But all of that is all a by the by. None of it is going to happen, so immigration will simply have to be cut instead.
