Being the land of a fair go has long been a source of Australian pride and identity.

But in the past two decades, generous tax concessions have made housing a lucrative wealth generator and provided investors with an unfair advantage when competing with first-home buyers looking for a place to call home. 

This week’s budget marks turning point for fairness in Australia. So credit where credit is due, I applaud Treasurer Jim Chalmers for taking the step to rein in the generous housing taxation concessions.

Hats off, too, to the fair-minded Australians all over the country, including many in so-called teal electorates who backed this in despite many benefitting personally from the concessions.

When it comes to priorities, people inevitably put their kids and grandkids first, and it was clear younger generations were being dudded. 

That’s the good news.

I had hoped this budget would also be a turning point for a longer-term vision for our nation. Sadly, this was not the case.

We live in an era of unprecedented change and transition.

We face multiple converging challenges such as the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, a global energy transition, the rise of artificial intelligence, an ageing population, growing chronic disease........

© The New Daily