Most radical budget since Whitlam? Housing reform and the future of the economy

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of Labor's 2026 federal Budget amidst criticism and the ongoing housing affordability crisis in Australia.

Subscribe to New Politics for weekly briefings and full analysis: www.newpolitics.com.au Labor’s 2026 federal Budget has sparked fierce backlash from conservative commentators, with critics labelling it everything from a “Whitlam budget” to “Marxism” after modest reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax. We examine Australia’s worsening housing affordability crisis, the political legacy of the 2019 election scare campaign, and why Labor remains caught between addressing inequality and preserving the neoliberal economic system that has dominated Australian politics for decades. Plus, we unpack the contradictions in the Budget itself – including limited cost-of-living relief, NDIS cuts, defence spending, mining profits, corporate tax concessions, and the Liberal Party’s response led by Angus Taylor – as Australia’s political debate shifts in ways the conservative establishment increasingly struggles to contain. #AUSPOL #Budget2026 www.newpolitics.com.au Support New Politics: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics Substack: https://newpolitics.substack.com Song listing: ‘La Femme d’Argent’, AIR.

People in this episode

Host: New Politics

Topics covered

• housing affordability
• economic reform
• political legacy
• neoliberalism
• budget analysis
• inequality
• conservative response

Keywords

• budget
• housing reform
• economic policy
• Labor
• Whitlam
• neoliberalism
• inequality
• Angus Taylor
• Australia
• politics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labor

Books & works: La Femme d’Argent

Places: Australia, Whitlam, 2019, Budget 2026

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