43 is the peak tax age of an Australian. The average 43-year-old hands over $59,000 a year in income tax, superannuation tax, consumption, and other levies. A 20-year-old's total tax paid is $13,500, and for a 30-year-old, it is $37,000. A 50-year-old pays $57,000, a 60-year-old $48,500, and a 70-year-old $27,500. People in their 40s typically earn higher wages, so their income and the 15% tax collected on their superannuation contributions typically are bigger, while raising families means higher household spending and consumption taxes paid. It’s not just Aussies in their forties paying high taxes, OECD research has found that income tax rates for Australian workers earning the average wage are among the highest in its 38 member countries, behind only Denmark, Iceland, and Belgium. Thanks @JEChalmers

As a loyal @Starlink customer and @X subscriber, I've played a very small role in creating the world's first trillionaire, @elonmusk. To put a trillion dollars into perspective: - $1 million in $100 notes is a stack 1.4 metres high. - $1 billion is a stack 1.4 kilometres high. - $1 trillion is a stack 1,400 kilometres high. A trillion is an extraordinary amount of money.

Adelaide houses are impossibly unaffordable. Less affordable than London, New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Adelaide homes sell for a median multiple of 11.2 times household income. When the median house price is divided by median household income, it produces the median multiple figure. In 1987, the median multiple for Australian houses sat at 2.8 times income. In 2025, that multiple hit a whopping 9.9! The median multiple is an imperfect measure of affordability because it does not adequately account for factors like the changed cost of borrowing, but it does remain a widely used measure of global housing affordability. According to the Demographia International Housing Affordability report, affordability can be categorised as follows: 3.0 & under : Affordable 3.1 to 4.0: Moderately Unaffordable 4.1 to 5.0: Seriously Unaffordable 5.1 to 8.9: Severely Unaffordable 9.0 & Over: Impossibly Unaffordable Many cities in the USA, Canada, Singapore, and UK have median homes selling for 3 - 5 times household income. How does Australia compare? Sydney: 2nd least affordable in the world at 14.0x Adelaide: 4th least affordable at 11.2x Brisbane: 8th least affordable at 9.9x Melbourne: 9th least affordable at 9.5x Perth: 13th least affordable at 8.0x By global standards, Australian housing is extraordinarily expensive. Government has played a big role in creating this problem. Lack of land release, massive taxes, fees and charges, repeated demand side stimuli, overregulation, unsustainable migration, and loose home lending conditions have all contributed. The high price of housing has made many slaves to debt. Two full-time incomes are often insufficient to purchase a home, even with a 20% deposit. High house prices hurt renters just as much as homebuyers. Shared equity schemes (with the government), 95% loans (guaranteed by taxpayers), and first home owner grants (paid for by taxpayers) all lead to higher priced and less affordable homes. Higher taxes are not the solution. Australian housing needs more land release, lower taxes, lower migration, less red and green tape, and far less taxpayer funded demand side stimuli.

Adelaide houses are impossibly unaffordable. Less affordable than London, New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles. Adelaide homes sell for a median multiple of 11.2 times household income. When the median house price is divided by median household income, it produces the median multiple figure. In 1987, the median multiple for Australian houses sat at 2.8 times income. In 2026, that multiple hit a whopping 11.2! The median multiple is an imperfect measure of affordability because it does not adequately account for factors like the changed cost of borrowing, but it does remain a widely used measure of global housing affordability. According to the Demographia International Housing Affordability report, affordability can be categorised as follows: 3.0 & under : Affordable 3.1 to 4.0: Moderately Unaffordable 4.1 to 5.0: Seriously Unaffordable 5.1 to 8.9: Severely Unaffordable 9.0 & Over: Impossibly Unaffordable Many cities in the USA, Canada, Singapore, and UK have median homes selling for 3 - 5 times household income. How does Australia compare? Sydney: 2nd least affordable in the world at 14.0x Adelaide: 4th least affordable at 11.2x Brisbane: 8th least affordable at 9.9x Melbourne: 9th least affordable at 9.5x Perth: 13th least affordable at 8.0x By global standards, Australian housing is extraordinarily expensive. Government has played a big role in creating this problem. Lack of land release, massive taxes, fees and charges, repeated demand side stimuli, overregulation, unsustainable migration, and loose home lending conditions have all contributed. The high price of housing has made many slaves to debt. Two full-time incomes are often insufficient to purchase a home, even with a 20% deposit. High house prices hurt renters just as much as homebuyers. Shared equity schemes (with the government), 95% loans (guaranteed by taxpayers), and first home owner grants (paid for by taxpayers) all lead to higher priced and less affordable homes. Higher taxes are not the solution. Australian housing needs more land release, lower taxes, lower migration, less red and green tape, and far less taxpayer funded demand side stimuli.

Voters elect politicians to make decisions. Far too much taxpayer money is spent on consultants, reviews, and experts when governments should simply be delivering the promises they took to the election.

On this week's Arbon About Australia on @FlowFMAustralia we discussed: - Premier @PMalinauskasMP spending $4 million a day on consultants - South Australia's debt blowout - A city-centric focus means regional SA misses out - Victorians finally turn on @VictorianLabor and @JacintaAllanMP? - Crime and economic pressures are driving political change. - Gun buybacks and speech restrictions are unnecessary - Why you can't build a cheap house - NDIS reform is difficult, but tough decisions can't be avoided Listen to the show for free via the link in the comments.

Housing supply issues won't be solved by more government intervention. The real problem is the regulations, taxes and bureaucratic hurdles that make homes harder and more expensive to build. If you want a cheap house, you should be allowed to build one.

Premier @PMalinauskasMP may enjoy a near-perfect public image, but South Australia’s finances tell a different story. By 2030, South Australia’s net debt is projected to reach $53.7 billion. With a current population of 1.9 million people, that's $28,118 of debt for every man, woman and child in the state. Interest alone is forecast to cost South Aussies $2.93 billion per year (>$8 million every day)! Victoria is often ridiculed for its financial position. By 2030, Victoria is projected to have net debt of $199.3 billion and annual interest costs of $11.82 billion, almost $32.4 million per day. Victoria's projected net debt per person in 2030 is $28,053. South Australia is on track to carry more net debt per person than Victoria. Not exactly the gold standard. Thanks @alpsa!