Many children are living in low-income families that struggle to pay the rent to keep a roof over their heads. Unaffordable housing is fuelling childhood poverty, so where is the policy response?
Federal treasurer Scott Morrison’s diagnosis of the risks and challenges confronting the Australian economy is hard to fault. But tackling those problems will require flexibility from the government.
Helen Westerman, The Conversation; Wes Mountain, The Conversation, and Jenni Henderson, The Conversation
What are the consequences of negative gearing policy? We’ve created a board game to model how negative gearing affects housing distribution, based on modelling from Dr Stephen Woodcock.
The Henry Review argued changes to negative gearing would need to be offset by increasing housing supply, but this aspect is missing from the Labor proposal.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said that Australia spends more at a Commonwealth level on negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts than it does on child care or higher education. Is he right?
Territorians will go to the polls for the next Northern Territory election only eight weeks after the July 2 election – blurring the lines between local controversies and how people vote federally.
A decent national housing policy is not just about the million or so Australians who are in housing need, marginal housing or homeless. In reality, all the housing sectors are connected.
We are hearing dire warnings from property interests fighting against changes to negative gearing. But what if Labor’s proposed changes actually support demand for the flood of new properties?
The budget seems to be saying to people with taxable incomes of less than $80,000 – if you want to pay less tax, get yourself a negatively-geared property investment.
Negative gearing reform is complex and fraught, with a chequered recent history. The key to any future reform will be finding a way to equitably change it without losing its benefit.