The Albanese government has broken an election promise. The Prime Minister ruled out changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax before the election, but last Tuesday’s budget confirms that these tax concessions will be reformed to discourage property speculation and lower housing prices.

A broken promise is worth calling out. People should keep to their commitments or explain why they have broken them.

But the policy debate is useless if, having called out a broken promise, journalists and politicians have nothing more to say.

That monomania was on public display in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ interview with Sarah Ferguson on the ABC after the budget was delivered.

“Will you first acknowledge the broken promises, and then we can talk about why?” she said.

“Yes,” said Chalmers. “I acknowledge the government’s come to a different view.”

But Ferguson wouldn’t hear it. Her next question began: “No acknowledgement of broken promises, despite the fact that they are blindingly obvious to everybody watching.”

So much for getting to “why” the government had broken its promise. Fearless journalists don’t let little things like acknowledging a broken promise stop them from holding the government to account for … not acknowledging a broken........

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