Australian Federal Election 2025

[wayneL]

Firstly oppositions seldom win solely on their platform, generally sitting Governments lose because they have performed badly, which other than the labor party screwing over young house buyers and renters they have done ok.

Secondly, the last classic Liberal was Abbott, but he was brutally honest.
The problem was, we were and still are in the middle of a left wing societal swing, so saying there are too many leaners and not enough lifters, was never going to float.

Turnbull couldn't work out whether he was Arthur or Martha with regard where he stood.
Then silly Billy blew his feet off trying to appease the Industry Super Funds, otherwise he would have been in the big chair in 2019.

Morrison was way too smug, smart and full of himself, so the media had to get rid of him, even though he and Frydenberg did an amazing job shutting down the country and re starting it up.

Albo is a survivor, he has been in the game since he was a kid, rat cunning as Tanya is finding out.
He has played the small target to perfection, achieved nothing, held responsible for nothing, locked in the top final average salary job done.

Now the next term will be really interesting, serious issues internationally, serious issues with the power grid, serious issues with China supply lines,serious issues with spending promises and growing debt, serious issues with getting anything made in Australia.

I can't wait to see how many bail out in the next term of Government, my guess is a lot from both sides of parliament, the days of easy money polishing seats in parliament, are fast coming to an end IMO.

Now where is that flack jacket.

You have defeated your own thesis on Albo. If Dutton even remotely represented his constituency, he'd romp in.

Instead of the government losing, we have you ludicrous situation where the opposition has lost it, much like the egregious John Hewson (another Manchurian Candidate).

 

[sptrawler]

You have defeated your own thesis on Albo. If Dutton even remotely represented his constituency, he'd romp in.

Instead of the government losing, we have you ludicrous situation where the opposition has lost it, much like the egregious John Hewson (another Manchurian Candidate).

Dutton hasn't sold the story well, he should have actually had experts sell the nuclear story, even Bowen can sell the green dream, without much to back it.

Snowy 2.0 was a coaltion initiative, Kurri Kurri was a coalition initiative, that Labor demanded should run on 50% hydrogen by 2025, now after 3 years of Labor neither are even running and labor are going to run Kurri Kurri on Diesel.

FFS what has Dutton said about that? Beyond useless, too slow and the media use him as a floor matt.
Just my opinion, but to win, he needs to be able to project an alternative.

Abbott did, but the media didn't like it, now the Labor Party are using Abbotts affirmative action plan to reduce emissions, they are subsidising coal and now paying companies to put in renewables, which is what they trashed Abbott for suggesting in 2014.

What is being said about that? Dutton is unelectable, he isn't sharp enough, or attractive enough to win enough votes, sad but that's the way it rolls.
Let's be honest Labor have done zip, but pump inflation and they well romp it in. Lol

Dutton wont be the leader next election IMO and I doubt Albo will be either.

 

[wayneL]

Dutton hasn't sold the story well, he should have actually had experts sell the nuclear story, even Bowen can sell the green dream, without much to back it.

Snowy 2.0 was a coaltion initiative, Kurri Kurri was a coalition initiative, that Labor demanded should run on 50% hydrogen by 2025, now after 3 years of Labor neither are even running and labor are going to run Kurri Kurri on Diesel.

FFS what has Dutton said about that? Beyond useless, too slow and the media use him as a floor matt.
Just my opinion, but to win, he needs to be able to project an alternative.

Abbott did, but the media didn't like it, now the Labor Party are using Abbotts affirmative action plan to reduce emissions, they are subsidising coal and now paying companies to put in renewables, which is what they trashed Abbott for suggesting in 2014.

What is being said about that? Dutton is unelectable, he isn't sharp enough, or attractive enough to win enough votes, sad but that's the way it rolls.
Let's be honest Labor have done zip, but pump inflation and they well romp it in. Lol

Dutton wont be the leader next election IMO and I doubt Albo will be either.

All true, and going long on KY jelly.

 

[sptrawler]

All true, and going long on KY jelly.

Good plan, IMO it is going to get ugly. Lol

 

[farmerge]

Firstly oppositions seldom win solely on their platform, generally sitting Governments lose because they have performed badly, which other than the labor party screwing over young house buyers and renters they have done ok.

Secondly, the last classic Liberal was Abbott, but he was brutally honest.
The problem was, we were and still are in the middle of a left wing societal swing, so saying there are too many leaners and not enough lifters, was never going to float.

Turnbull couldn't work out whether he was Arthur or Martha with regard where he stood.
Then silly Billy blew his feet off trying to appease the Industry Super Funds, otherwise he would have been in the big chair in 2019.

Morrison was way too smug, smart and full of himself, so the media had to get rid of him, even though he and Frydenberg did an amazing job shutting down the country and re starting it up.

Albo is a survivor, he has been in the game since he was a kid, rat cunning as Tanya is finding out.
He has played the small target to perfection, achieved nothing, held responsible for nothing, locked in the top final average salary job done.

Now the next term will be really interesting, serious issues internationally, serious issues with the power grid, serious issues with China supply lines,serious issues with spending promises and growing debt, serious issues with getting anything made in Australia.

I can't wait to see how many bail out in the next term of Government, my guess is a lot from both sides of parliament, the days of easy money polishing seats in parliament, are fast coming to an end IMO.

Now where is that flack jacket.

Bang, bang

 

[farmerge]

All true, and going long on KY jelly.

@wayneL Err what is colour of choice Wayne. Perhaps Yellow for spineless, Red for massive bleed, White/Clear so as not to be seen!!!!!!!

 

[IFocus]

Let's be honest Labor have done zip, but pump inflation and they well romp it in. Lol

Wouldn't say zip 1st thing was restoring the damage done to Pacific neighbors caused by the Coalition slashing funding letting Chinese influence in unabated.

The other thing is they have had a go at wages and conditions.... the workers everyone says they abandon.

Cost of Living Relief:

• Tax cuts for all Australians
• Two years of energy bill relief for every household and small business
• We’ve increased Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 45%
• We’ve introduced 60 day scripts and delivered cheaper medicines – saving Australians $1 billion.
• We’ve funded a 15% pay rise for early childhood educators and aged care workers while requiring childcare centres to cap fees to support affordability and fairness
• We’ve wiped $3 billion from student debt for more than 3 million Australians, and we’ll wipe another $20 billion if re-elected

The Economy:

• Delivered the largest back-to-back surpluses in history, halved inflation from 6.1% to 2.8%, and returned 82% of revenue upgrades ($285 billion) to reduce debt, saving $80 billion in interest
• Created more than 1 million jobs, the most of any first term government!
• Unemployment is at 4.1%, the lowest average unemployment rate in over 50 years
• Our 2024-25 budget invests $22.7 billion over the next decade to build a Future Made in Australia. This includes a new front door to make it easier to invest in Australia, production tax incentives and programs to support solar and battery manufacturing

Labor Priorities:

• Real wages are up 3.8% (almost double the 2.2% under the Coalition) – we’ve achieved the fastest turnaround in real wage growth on record
• Same Job Same Pay is now law, minimum wage earners are up $7000, the gender pay gap is the lowest it’s ever been with women $1900 per year better off
• We’ve building 1.2 million new homes across Australia, plus the biggest investment in social and affordable housing in a decade
• Making home ownership possible through Help to Buy schemes so that you can buy a home with a deposit as little as 2%
• We’ve strengthened Medicare by tripling bulk billing incentives and opened 84 Urgent Care Clinics (including in Oxley and Cornwall St), delivering 1 million free GP consultations so far, with 3 more clinics set to launch this financial year
• More than 30 of the 61 planned Medicare Mental Health Centres have been rolled out, providing free mental health care to everyone who walks through the door, in every state and territory
• We’ve passed landmark legislation to lift Federal Government funding to public schools above the 20% cap introduced by Malcolm Turnbull
• We’ve also made $16 billion of additional investment for public schools available to help fill the gap
• We’ve funded 500,000+ Fee-Free TAFE and training places across key areas of national priority and legislated 100,000 free TAFE training places annually from 2027
• 99% of nursing homes are now staffed with a registered nurse on-site 24/7, legislated bipartisanship reforms for certainty within the sector and an additional 3.9 million minutes of direct care every day, including 1.7 million minutes of care from registered nurses in residential aged care
• We’ve created the National Anti-Corruption Commission. After just 12 months of operation it has 31 corruption investigations underway and five matters before the court
• Passed legislation to ensure that multinationals pay their share of tax in Australia
• Implemented the biggest reform to mergers laws in almost 50 years to make the economy to stop damaging anti-competitive corporate acquisitions and to make economically beneficial mergers quicker and simpler
• Introduced laws to protect Australians from debt spirals associated with using Buy Now Pay Later services

Renewable Energy and Towards Net Zero:

• In just two years, we have ticked off 65 renewable projects – enough to power more than seven million homes; by the end of 2024 our grid will be powered by 42% renewables and we’re on track to achieve our 82% target by 2030
• We’re electrifying everything that can be electrified, powering it with renewables, and building large-scale storage through batteries, pumped hydro, and hydrogen—creating thousands of jobs across our regions
• Through the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund and the Buy Australian Plan, we’re modernising and diversifying our industrial base, unlocking the capability to manufacture these cutting-edge technologies right here in Australia

Top Environment Portfolio Wins:

• Investing $550 million to protect our threatened species
• We’re increasing recycling by more than 1.3 million tonnes a year & stopping paper, soft and difficult to recycle plastics from going to landfill
• Having the first Environment Minister to block a coal mine
• Saved Toondah Harbour from destruction. The Labor Government is protecting internationally important wetlands
• We now protect 52% of our oceans, more than any other country on earth!
• We’ve protected 70 million hectares of land and sea – an area bigger than Germany and Italy combined!
• Set up new Indigenous protected areas and expanded the Indigenous ranger program
• We’ve doubled funding to national parks
• We’ve stopped Jabiluka from being mined for uranium – and will add it to the Kakadu National Park World Heritage instead
• We hosted the world’s first Global Nature Positive Summit (which got a shout out from The King on his recent visit) to drive collective action and private investment in nature protection and repair

We’ve also introduced world-leading legislation to enforce a minimum age of 16 years for social media.

 

[sptrawler]

You forgot, 30-100% increase in the price of houses and rents. Real wages up 3.8%, real groceries and electricity prices up 50%

Even so they are better than the alternative, which shows how bad it really is.

By the way @IFocus , you need to stop copy and pasting Labor election pamphlets, before they have been released.

 

[Knobby22]

You forgot, 30-100% increase in the price of houses and rents. Real wages up 3.8%, real groceries and electricity prices up 50%

Even so they are better than the alternative, which shows how bad it really is.

By the way @IFocus , you need to stop copy and pasting Labor election pamphlets, before they have been released.

Didn't give us debt like that Morrison chap. Actually paid it off a bit. Cut a lot of dodgy programs he set up.

And they have done a few things to crow about. I think bringing back 500,000 places in TAFE is pretty important. trades are important. Setting up the National Corruption Commission. Lower unemployment. Fixing the War Veteran delays.

Getting debt down resulting in $80 billion saving in interest.

Reading the Liberal website I like a lot of it. (link below). It is pretty vague though.

Dutton's boy said he was worried about buying a house. Should be possible if that policy where he can claim interest on his tax return came in. Will help the rich kids a lot and as Saul Eslake says substantially raise house prices which is good for property investors (I just own my house).

Don't like my taxes being used this way.
Once you give home buyers a 5 year tax deduction, you can't take it back and it would cost $$$billions.
I am sure we would be stuck with it for generations. And how do we pay for it? Higher taxes?

I reckon they need to go away, come back with a better plan in time for the next election and then I will vote for them.
Like to see a bit of a tax reform agenda. Always things that can be done. Show a bit of guts.

Coalition policies.

https://www.liberal.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-Priorities-of-a-Dutton-Coalition-Government.pdf

 

[PZ.]

Strange claim about electricity prices up 50%..

My power bills are always low and a few bills were around $68 but then the $75 rebate kicked in and I ended up in credit.

Just sayin'

 

[PZ.]

Didn't give us debt like that Morrison chap. Actually paid it off a bit. Cut a lot of dodgy programs he set up.

And they have done a few things to crow about. I think bringing back 500,000 places in TAFE is pretty important. trades are important. Setting up the National Corruption Commission. Lower unemployment. Fixing the War Veteran delays.

Getting debt down resulting in $80 billion saving in interest.

Reading the Liberal website I like a lot of it. (link below). It is pretty vague though.

Dutton's boy said he was worried about buying a house. Should be possible if that policy where he can claim interest on his tax return came in. Will help the rich kids a lot and as Saul Eslake says substantially raise house prices which is good for property investors (I just own my house).

Don't like my taxes being used this way.
Once you give home buyers a 5 year tax deduction, you can't take it back and it would cost $$$billions.
I am sure we would be stuck with it for generations. And how do we pay for it? Higher taxes?

I reckon they need to go away, come back with a better plan in time for the next election and then I will vote for them.
Like to see a bit of a tax reform agenda. Always things that can be done. Show a bit of guts.

Coalition policies.

https://www.liberal.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-Priorities-of-a-Dutton-Coalition-Government.pdf

View attachment 197631

I like the idea of claiming loan repayments on the income tax based on the restrictions they've put in. It's the most sensible housing policy I've seen in decades.

Get rid of Neg gearing and make it even better.

 

[Smurf1976]

Cost of Living Relief:

The question I'll raise, and this applies to all parties, is how much of this is actually fixing underlying problems? Versus how much is really just papering over the cracks or, even worse, blatantly buying votes?

 

[Smurf1976]

And they have done a few things to crow about. I think bringing back 500,000 places in TAFE is pretty important. trades are important.

Fully agree trades are important, very much so, but ultimately nobody's becoming a tradesperson without an apprenticeship. TAFE is only part of the story there.

If we want abundant and high quality trades training it starts with bringing government work in-house to the greatest extent possible, and it starts with manufacturing. Because there needs to be someone employing the apprentices, and small business with a lack of secure work has always struggled there for very fundamental reasons.

 

[IFocus]

You forgot, 30-100% increase in the price of houses and rents. Real wages up 3.8%, real groceries and electricity prices up 50%

Even so they are better than the alternative, which shows how bad it really is.

By the way @IFocus , you need to stop copy and pasting Labor election pamphlets, before they have been released.

TBH I don't think Labor have been aggressive enough but then that's Albanese steady as it goes he is very much a human which a lot would see as a weakness.

 

[Smurf1976]

We’re electrifying everything that can be electrified

I could rip that one to shreds.....

Suffice to say one of my pet hates, on all subjects, is the manner in which successive governments have actively thwarted electrification.

An agreement was reached in 2006 between two certain individuals to the effect should Labor win the 2007 federal election, which they did, then there'd be changes to building regulations with the practical effect of strongly favouring gas as the preferred means of water heating. Subsequent agreement with the states at COAG, since the states needed to do the actual legislating, made it happen.

Tasmania copped a fair bit of flak from the media at the time in other states for refusing to go along with it, indeed it made the news headlines on radio at the time. Suffice to say I know the details intimately and my interest in the subject isn't random.

All up consumers have spent about $6 billion on equipment, not including installation labour which is substantial, to not electrify water heating in compliance with an assortment of federal and state mandates.

That isn't just a failure to do something. It's actively doing the wrong thing.

Now before anyone says but that was done in 2006, rather a long time ago, that doesn't excuse it. First because once an appliance is installed it's there for ~20 years. Second because it's still being done today in most states. Eg in SA gas has an approximately 95% market share in new homes in metropolitan Adelaide and it's that legislation which brought this situation about.

 

[Smurf1976]

Seems like the most appropriate thread for it:

Trouble is, that's mostly how our political system seems to be working too. Just replace Tik Tok with your choice of anything lightweight, of not much use or otherwise unimportant.

 

[SirRumpole]

that Labor demanded should run on 50% hydrogen by 2025,

That was a demand by the Greens as I understand it. Take it or leave it, you want Kurri Kurri at all, then run it on hydrogen.

 

[sptrawler]

Didn't give us debt like that Morrison chap. Actually paid it off a bit. Cut a lot of dodgy programs he set up.

Yes another one of Morrison's dodgy programs was coming to an end on July 1st, but has been extended 1 year.
Morrison copped a lot of flack, for initiating a lot of left wing agenda's, eventually history will judge him and Frydenberg, rather than the media.
If it had come to an end, it would have scared the hell out of a lot of people.
Appologies for the update, I just checked the latest budget.

Deeming rates changes: Are single renters unfairly punished?

The reporting during last week’s Federal Budget that deeming rates would be frozen for another year from 1 July 2025 was a welcome one.

retirementessentials.com.au

And they have done a few things to crow about. I think bringing back 500,000 places in TAFE is pretty important. trades are important. Setting up the National Corruption Commission. Lower unemployment. Fixing the War Veteran delays.

There is no problem bringing back 500,000 TAFE places, enrollment numbers are actually falling, everyone goes to Uni now, to get a degree in Arts. Remember Julia's catch cry all the jobs will be in technology, every Australian child will need to go to uni, thank god for India at least we can still get tradies.

As at 30 September 2024, there were 333 765 active (in-training) apprentice and trainee contracts nationally, with over two-thirds in trade occupations. The total number of in-training contracts decreased by 7.8% compared with 30 September 2023.25 Mar 2025
Trade contracts decreased by 1.9%, to 232 610, while non-trade contracts declined by 18.9%, to 101 120.
building and construction apprenticeship numbers in Australia have been declining, with a 22% drop in commencements in the year to December 2023. This is part of a broader trend of fewer apprenticeships overall in the country, with completions also decreasing. This decline is concerning the industry, as it could lead to a shortage of skilled workers and impact the economy.

Getting debt down resulting in $80 billion saving in interest.

That is the good thing they have done, the downside is the inflation it caused, that happens when Governments inflate away their debts.
It is fine if your not part of the collateral damage, it's not so good if you are a young couple renting, an old couple renting, or a couple who were saving to buy a house as your 10% deposit savings have been hammered by the price rise of what you want to buy.
There is an old couple and a single pensioner in the units where I live, their units sold in the last month and they have been told their new rents when the lease is renewed, both were paying 340/week, the couples unit has been bought by an owner occupier and the single pensioners is going from $340/week to $450/week, the couple are having to move into their daughters shed there aren't any affordable rentals.

I personally think as I've said before, Australia should adopt what the U.K and some other countries do, with regard negative gearing on property.
This is a good explanation IMO:
In Australia, taxpayers can deduct their net loss on negatively geared assets (e.g. residential property and shares) against other types of income, including salaries or wages and business income. There are no restrictions on the number or types of assets held, and there are no caps to the amount of deductions (losses) that can be recognised in any one income year.

In the UK, by contrast, if a taxpayer makes a loss on an asset, that loss is quarantined to that asset class. If after applying the income losses in that asset class against the gains in that same asset class the taxpayer is still in an overall net loss position for the income year, then that loss can only be carried forward and utilised in future income years. Any unapplied losses can then be offset against the capital gain of the eventual disposal of the asset.

It follows, then, that Australia’s negative gearing system is already far more generous than the UK’s, since:

• There are no limits on losses recognised;
• The investor can apply losses against unrelated income (e.g. wages and salary);
• Losses are subsidised by tax refunds; and
• Losses are recognised at the individual’s marginal tax rate.

In turn, the loss of revenue to the Australian Government is greater than would occur under a ‘quarantined’ approach, like in the UK, and the amount of investment that takes place, primarily into existing housing, is higher than would otherwise occur.

Hopefully a Government in the future starts and takes responsibility for the outcomes, rather than just delegate them to the private sector and start to take some of the essentially services back in house.
Hopefully Governments improve, IMO they need to.
I think the current crop of politicians, across the spectrum, are a sad indictment of Australian politics when you hear their vision "broad brush sound grabs".
@Dona Ferentes you were right, the year is young, there's my second rant and I thought I could keep it to one.

 

[Knobby22]

Yes another one of Morrison's dodgy programs apparently comes to an end on July 1st.


There is no problem bringing back 500,000 TAFE places, enrollment numbers are actually falling, everyone goes to Uni now, to get a degree in Arts. Remember Julia's catch cry all the jobs will be in technology, every Australian child will need to go to uni, thank god for India at least we can still get tradies.

As at 30 September 2024, there were 333 765 active (in-training) apprentice and trainee contracts nationally, with over two-thirds in trade occupations. The total number of in-training contracts decreased by 7.8% compared with 30 September 2023.25 Mar 2025
Trade contracts decreased by 1.9%, to 232 610, while non-trade contracts declined by 18.9%, to 101 120.
building and construction apprenticeship numbers in Australia have been declining, with a 22% drop in commencements in the year to December 2023. This is part of a broader trend of fewer apprenticeships overall in the country, with completions also decreasing. This decline is concerning the industry, as it could lead to a shortage of skilled workers and impact the economy.


That is the good thing they have done, the downside is the inflation it caused, that happens when Governments inflate away their debts.
It is fine if your not part of the collateral damage, it's not so good if you are a young couple renting, an old couple renting, or a couple who were saving to buy a house as your 10% deposit savings have been hammered by the price rise of what you want to buy.
There is an old couple and a single pensioner in the units where I live, their units sold in the last month and they have been told their new rents when the lease is renewed, both were paying 340/week, the couples unit has been bought by an owner occupier and the single pensioners is going from $340/week to $450/week.

I personally think as I've said before, Australia should adopt what the U.K and some other countries do, with regard negative gearing on property.
This is a good explanation IMO:
In Australia, taxpayers can deduct their net loss on negatively geared assets (e.g. residential property and shares) against other types of income, including salaries or wages and business income. There are no restrictions on the number or types of assets held, and there are no caps to the amount of deductions (losses) that can be recognised in any one income year.

In the UK, by contrast, if a taxpayer makes a loss on an asset, that loss is quarantined to that asset class. If after applying the income losses in that asset class against the gains in that same asset class the taxpayer is still in an overall net loss position for the income year, then that loss can only be carried forward and utilised in future income years. Any unapplied losses can then be offset against the capital gain of the eventual disposal of the asset.

It follows, then, that Australia’s negative gearing system is already far more generous than the UK’s, since:

• There are no limits on losses recognised;
• The investor can apply losses against unrelated income (e.g. wages and salary);
• Losses are subsidised by tax refunds; and
• Losses are recognised at the individual’s marginal tax rate.

In turn, the loss of revenue to the Australian Government is greater than would occur under a ‘quarantined’ approach, like in the UK, and the amount of investment that takes place, primarily into existing housing, is higher than would otherwise occur.

Hopefully a Government in the future starts and takes responsibility for the outcomes, rather than just delegate them to the private sector and start to take some of the essentially services back in house.
Hopefully Governments improve, IMO they need to.
I think the current crop of politicians, across the spectrum, are a sad indictment of Australian politics when you hear their vision "broad brush sound grabs".

100%

 

[farmerge]

Yes another one of Morrison's dodgy programs apparently comes to an end on July 1st.
If it does come to an end it will scare the hell out of a lot of people.


There is no problem bringing back 500,000 TAFE places, enrollment numbers are actually falling, everyone goes to Uni now, to get a degree in Arts. Remember Julia's catch cry all the jobs will be in technology, every Australian child will need to go to uni, thank god for India at least we can still get tradies.

As at 30 September 2024, there were 333 765 active (in-training) apprentice and trainee contracts nationally, with over two-thirds in trade occupations. The total number of in-training contracts decreased by 7.8% compared with 30 September 2023.25 Mar 2025
Trade contracts decreased by 1.9%, to 232 610, while non-trade contracts declined by 18.9%, to 101 120.
building and construction apprenticeship numbers in Australia have been declining, with a 22% drop in commencements in the year to December 2023. This is part of a broader trend of fewer apprenticeships overall in the country, with completions also decreasing. This decline is concerning the industry, as it could lead to a shortage of skilled workers and impact the economy.


That is the good thing they have done, the downside is the inflation it caused, that happens when Governments inflate away their debts.
It is fine if your not part of the collateral damage, it's not so good if you are a young couple renting, an old couple renting, or a couple who were saving to buy a house as your 10% deposit savings have been hammered by the price rise of what you want to buy.
There is an old couple and a single pensioner in the units where I live, their units sold in the last month and they have been told their new rents when the lease is renewed, both were paying 340/week, the couples unit has been bought by an owner occupier and the single pensioners is going from $340/week to $450/week, the couple are having to move into their daughters shed there aren't any affordable rentals.

I personally think as I've said before, Australia should adopt what the U.K and some other countries do, with regard negative gearing on property.
This is a good explanation IMO:
In Australia, taxpayers can deduct their net loss on negatively geared assets (e.g. residential property and shares) against other types of income, including salaries or wages and business income. There are no restrictions on the number or types of assets held, and there are no caps to the amount of deductions (losses) that can be recognised in any one income year.

In the UK, by contrast, if a taxpayer makes a loss on an asset, that loss is quarantined to that asset class. If after applying the income losses in that asset class against the gains in that same asset class the taxpayer is still in an overall net loss position for the income year, then that loss can only be carried forward and utilised in future income years. Any unapplied losses can then be offset against the capital gain of the eventual disposal of the asset.

It follows, then, that Australia’s negative gearing system is already far more generous than the UK’s, since:

• There are no limits on losses recognised;
• The investor can apply losses against unrelated income (e.g. wages and salary);
• Losses are subsidised by tax refunds; and
• Losses are recognised at the individual’s marginal tax rate.

In turn, the loss of revenue to the Australian Government is greater than would occur under a ‘quarantined’ approach, like in the UK, and the amount of investment that takes place, primarily into existing housing, is higher than would otherwise occur.

Hopefully a Government in the future starts and takes responsibility for the outcomes, rather than just delegate them to the private sector and start to take some of the essentially services back in house.
Hopefully Governments improve, IMO they need to.
I think the current crop of politicians, across the spectrum, are a sad indictment of Australian politics when you hear their vision "broad brush sound grabs".
@Dona Ferentes you were right, the year is young, there's my second rant and I thought I could keep it to one.

@Knobby22 Where is the Organ Grinder because only the Monkeys (not the US pop group) are showing up!!!!!