The Treasurer is working to construct a responsible budget for Australia, and he is faced with spending expectations far beyond the capacity of revenue streams.   As with other complex problems governments face in this country, Jim Chalmers is hamstrung by political dogma and fear of the electorate's reaction.   He is calling for a “conversation” on the problem. What does he mean by a “conversation”? If the “conversation” is just another government-structured series of focus groups or another summit of selected community leaders, he will fail to win over a distrusting public.  Engage public wisdom and goodwill through a citizen’s jury!  

"The long-delayed imperative for tax reform has arrived and will be pivotal in making or breaking the Albanese government. Chalmers has spelled out the news – NDIS spending is growing by 12.1 per cent yearly, hospital funding by 6.1 per cent, aged care by 5 per cent, defence spending by 4.4 per cent, while higher interest rates mean interest payments will grow about 14 per cent a year over the next four years. The nation’s social and security contract has expanded – but the policy consequences and financing have not been addressed. That is going to be Labor’s destiny."

The Australian federal government seeks to break a firm commitment made multiple times before the election, deceitfully claiming that conditions differ from when the commitment was made.This political "bait and switch" is all too common among our political parties and has resulted in low trust in our politicians and government processes.Australia urgently needs to match public spending to the community's willingness to be taxed. We also need to change our tax mix to lower the burden placed on everyday wage and salary earners.Citizens must be broadly and transparently included in this process for a successful outcome. 

“Major political parties operate sophisticated voter-tracking software without the consent of voters and their databases contain enormous amounts of personal information about all of us…. While our politicians might think it’s no big deal to build profiles of voters without their consent and without accountability and accuracy safeguards, the fact such databases are routinely consulted before appointments are made to government boards, for example, highlights another part of the problem: an effective hollowing out of the principle of the secret ballot.” Professor Peter van Onselen, The Australian 1/10/22

The AFR View 22/9/22   “Australia is better placed than many other comparable nations. But Dr Chalmers needs to start a serious and genuinely upfront national conversation about the challenges that Australian people must confront.”   The government should take up this call for a national conversation and "fully" engage the Australian people.   For too long now, our country has been slipping backwards on many fronts, and we, “the people”, have not engaged sufficiently in addressing many significant and often contentious issues.   The level of affordable government-funded services and how we raise revenue to pay for these needs to be urgently addressed.

Paul Keating again demonstrated his intellectual depth and developed maturity in a well-crafted statement about the death of the Queen.   Of particular importance is the message:   “In the 20th century, the self became privatised, while the public realm, the realm of the public good, was broadly neglected.”   We should all take heed of this message in our daily lives as individuals, families, work, and as citizens of our nation and the world community.   Our politicians need to operate not in terms of power or party dogma but the public good that the electorate understands and knowingly supports.