Safe passage through parliament was secured this week for tax reforms proposed in the Albanese government’s 2026 budget. Despite much debate over the reforms’ pros and cons, and negotiations within parliament, this is a demonstration of Australia’s democratic system working as it was designed to do.

It shows major reform is still possible in Australian politics, that parliament can still work in an orderly manner to turn contested reforms – with negotiated changes – into law, and that controversy is inevitably part of getting big things done.

The last round of major tax reform – establishment of the goods and services tax (GST) in the late 1990s – is so long ago that many people have forgotten the mechanics, atmospherics and amount of time required to achieve reform.

Liberal prime minister John Howard proposed a GST in an interview with Laurie Oakes on the Nine Network’s Sunday program in May 1997.

The Howard government was still spending an enormous amount of time tweaking the exact plan in cabinet meetings three years later to ensure its smooth implementation on July 1 2000. As late as June 5, just weeks out from the GST’s start, cabinet was debating details such as how nightclubs, hotels and supermarkets should handle........

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