Opinion

Reforms to start budget repair should begin at homes

The federal government could make houses more affordable and save millions by cutting grants to state governments that price gouge on residential land sales.

Bob Day and David Leyonhjelm

Feb 28, 2021 – 2.03pm

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As everyone knows, the government has borrowed a lot of money to stimulate the economy in order to recover from its COVID-19 control measures. Gross debt is expected to exceed a trillion dollars this financial year. Getting the budget back under control is vital if workers are to avoid paying exorbitant taxes for generations.

There are various ways this could be achieved. Here are three obvious areas in which the government could make a start without risking even more harm through inflation and the erosion of savings.

Bob Day is a former senator.

David Leyonhjelm writes on Australian politics and was a Liberal Democrat senator for NSW.