Wed 13 May 2026 15.15 AEST
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Australians are crying out for big, brave reforms from governments. The long-overdue changes to housing tax concessions in this budget suggest the federal government may be starting to get the message.
On this episode of Follow the Money, Matt Grudnoff and Ebony Bennett discuss the government’s important changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, its “brutal” cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and why some “broken promises” may not be such a big deal in the eyes of Australians.
This episode was recorded on Wednesday 13 May.
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Guest: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @mattgrudnoff
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett
Show notes:
Budget 2026: What the government’s housing tax changes mean for first home buyers and housing affordability by Matt Grudnoff, The Point (May 2026)
Budget 2026: Government targets investor tax breaks and trust loopholes in housing reform package by Tegan George, The Point (May 2026)
Budget 2026: Treasurer’s speech, annotated by Greg Jericho, The Point (May 2026)
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au. Subscribe to Follow the Money on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.
If you want to understand the limitations of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of wellbeing, then the latest figures for the March quarter are a great example. The overall picture saw the economy grow by 0.3% for the March quarter and by 2.5% for the last year. This shows slow growth but not as slow as some were predicting.
Last week’s AFR Rich List again exposed the scale of wealth concentration in Australia, revealing billionaire wealth grew by $50,000 per minute - more than the average childcare worker earns. This increase alone could lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty.
