Jim Chalmers' budget doesn't fix everything - but it's an overdue first payment to future generations | Ken Henry

The treasurer has shown economic reforms should not be left to the too-hard basket, and instead be pursued with a sense of urgencyExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFinally, a budget of economic reform. It has been too long coming. At this stage of the economic cycle, the budget should be in surplus. It should not be adding tens of billions of dollars every year to the mountain of public debt. Sixteen years after the release of the tax review commissioned by the Rudd government, our tax system should be supporting much better budget outcomes. It should be underwriting much stronger productivity growth. It should be delivering a much better deal for young Australian workers. And it should be delivering to Australians a much bigger share of the resource rents being extracted by the foreign multinationals exploiting our finite natural resources.So, this budget doesn't fix everything. Continue reading...