Despite the enormous looming challenges of climate change, an ageing population, mounting public debt, time-limited foreign demand for our key exports as the global economy shifts away from fossil fuels, and a generation becoming more and more indebted— incrementalism prevails as the political status quo.

Both major parties have shied away from brave reforms, leaving those to the crossbench. Inertia reigns supreme in Parliament House. These indicators signal the need to progress beyond the jaded narratives of Australian mercantilism and secure future economic prosperity with meaningful reform. Substantive, ambitious policy reform is overdue.

In a per capita recession, with mortgage stress on the rise, the cost of living remains at the forefront of the electorate’s mind. Australia's economy is just emerging from a sustained period of inflationary pressures, and persistent services inflation suggests that pain may continue. Australia rang in the new year with an all-too-familiar song and dance about income tax—where bracket creep has become the most convenient can to kick down the road. Although Labor's adjustment to the Stage 3 tax cuts are intended to reflect cost-of-living pressures, ambition to advance wholesale tax reform is still found wanting.

The authors of this paper argue that Australia's taxation system must reduce its dependence on labour and the normal return on capital, and much more on consumption, land, windfall gains, and economic rents. They also argue that the tax system must encourage, not penalise, economic activity, innovation, and productivity, to reverse Australia's long-term economic decline.