If the Albanese government wants to deliver lasting reform – in education, healthcare, housing and climate – it will have to confront the hardest political question of all: how to raise the revenue to pay for it.

Those of us who would like the Albanese government to adopt a bolder policy agenda need to recognise that it will be limited without tax reform to raise more revenue. But that in turn will require the government to make the case why more revenue is needed and will not damage the economy.

Albanese’s vision when his government was first elected was for a “fairer country with a brighter future for all Australians.” Or as Albanese frequently puts it: “holding nobody back and leaving nobody behind.”

As Albanese recognised, realising people’s potential requires a strong economy, with a focus on education, including early child-hood education, skills and technological innovation, such as new industries powered by renewable energy. Supporting those at risk of being left behind, includes income support, and improving the quality and accessibility of aged care, the NDIS, Medicare and social housing.

But for many Labor supporters the Albanese government is too timid. As the former Labor advisor, Sean Kelly, put it in his recent Quarterly Essay: “What does Labor stand for?”

In response, Albanese points to a record of successes. Real wages are beginning to rise as inflation eases, with minimum wages lifted, care workers better paid, and employee and union bargaining rights strengthened. More than 1.2 million jobs have been created, unemployment remains low, and cost-of-living pressures have been addressed through energy rebates, rent assistance increases, and expanded investment in social and affordable housing. The government has legislated emissions reduction targets, increased funding for climate transition initiatives, improved........

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