Sweeping economic reform is essential yet almost impossible. That’s the tragic but inescapable verdict from the last few years of political and public discourse. But a narrow path to reform remains open.

Earlier this month, Treasurer Jim Chalmers released a landmark Productivity Commission report, Advancing Prosperity. It sounds a dismal warning: Australia is experiencing its worst productivity performance in six decades, yet productivity growth is responsible for all the improvement in Australian living standards since Federation.