How to fix Australia's budget in 30 minutes.
I played around with new game that allows you to take the role of Australia's Treasurer.
My philosophy: Shift the tax burden off income, work and production and onto unproductive speculation and rents, specifically in land and housing. Channel capital into factories, industry and manufacturing. Make Australia a productive superpower again.
Key moves:
- Income tax cuts for every bracket, weighted toward low and middle earners.
- LNG export levy, 2% federal mineral resource levy, PRRT effective rate up to 45%. Qatar exports the same gas as us and pulls in $40-50 bn a year. Fix this to pay for income tax cuts.
- Broad-based land value tax (0.25%) with the family home completely carved out. Kills idle land banking.
- Negative gearing eliminated. Dead money. I want capital building factories, not flipping houses.
- Tobacco and alcohol excise slashed. Current rates hand the market to Middle Eastern organised crime gangs and triggered the firebombing epidemic in Sydney and Melbourne.
- Defence to 2.5% of GDP. Infrastructure to $25 bn. High-speed rail down the east coast, metros in every capital city. Nobody should need a car to get around any of the 5 major cities.
- NDIS nationalised. Save $20 bn without cutting a single dollar from genuinely disabled Australians by ripping out the legions of shonky providers running mafia operations on taxpayer money.
- Public service trimmed from 180,000 to 150,000.
- Immigration and Home Affairs lifted to $8 bn — harden the border, deport illegal residents.
No cuts to pension, welfare, health, education or aged care. Politically untouchable.
Result: Budget surplus, lower debt interest payments, tax cuts for every Australian, and capital flowing into productive enterprise instead of unproductive speculation.
Beautiful vision. Make Australia a manufacturing and infrastructure superpower.