Barry Brott

The federal budget unintentionally sparked the debate we need to have as a country and has given voice to a large number of people who have never expressed themselves publicly before. The debate is about the sort of country we want to be and the role of ambition, incentives, aspiration and wealth creation. As much as some of us might hate some of the policy Initatives in the budget, we should be thrilled that we are finally having the debate we need to have.

Underlying the budget debate is a debate about what sort of a country we want to be. Firstly do we want to be a country where most young Australians can afford to buy a house, or can afford to pay their rent. I think the answer from just about all of us is yes. State and Federal Governments have let young Australians down over the last 30 years; buying your own house has become an impossible aspiration for millions of (mainly younger) Australians. In that context budget changes to CGT and negative gearing as they relate to residential property should be welcomed. Truthfully they aren’t going to help as much as we would all like as the fundamental issue in Australia is lack of supply and, by the Government’s own admission, the budget does little to increase supply. The second question is whether we want to be a society that encourages and incentivises hard work and entrepreneurship AND at the same time helps Australians who are doing it tough. I think the answer to the 2nd question should also be an unambiguous yes. That is the fundamental problem with the budget. The rhetoric is all about Intergenerational fairness but the reality is that it takes from business builders in Australia and it doesn’t give something back to other Australians. The CGT changes will just discourage business building and job creation and the extra revenue will fall into a massive fiscal black hole. A budget that reduces incentive for Australians to build businesses and employ people is a bad budget. People can use whatever labels they like but if people think there is something wrong in advocating for wealth creation in this country then it just means they have a different vision for this country. My vision is the vision articulated by the Hawke Keating Government and then by the Howard Costello Government. That is the Australia I aspire for us to be. The CGT hike for business builders will do nothing to increase prosperity or fairness unless your definition of fairness is reducing incentive for Australians to build successful businesses. Yes, if you build a successful business you will generate wealth for you and your family but you will also share that with the country via job creation, increased tax revenue and better products and services for Australians. I am old enough to remember when we called that a win win.