A contemporary economy must be based on sustainability and job creation. The two are not mutually exclusive. When it comes to the “spending v wealth creation debate”, significant foresight, creativity and collaboration is required. We must create jobs in the areas most beneficial to our future and see genuine tax reform through. As part of this we must create tax brackets more supportive of the ‘everyday Australian’ as well as greater tax transparency.

Loopholes for big corporations must be removed and we must place significantly higher taxes on our big polluters. We should be frank about the ‘realities of a GST’ if governments continue to offer ‘cash handouts’, exceptions, deductions and exclusions to those that need it least. We should also trongly consider bringing negative gearing to an end.