Many have criticised Prime Minister Albanese for breaking clear, repeated election promises not to change capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing. Once in office, he did the opposite. Many of us – myself included – posted and shared critical pieces, and many more “liked” them. We also condemned the tax changes as bad policy.
Since those efforts failed to stop the changes, it’s worth reflecting on what we could have done differently and what we should do now.
Why the criticism had little impact
Politicians, almost without exception, are motivated first and foremost by gaining or retaining office. They will support or oppose policies based on what they believe will improve their chances of winning or staying in power. In this case, our Labour government clearly calculated that backing these tax changes would not seriously damage their prospects of re-election in 2028. They likely believe voters will have forgotten the issue by then, will be distracted by other matters, or will be won over by other promises.
Voicing disapproval online may have alerted some people to Albanese’s broken promises and helped explain why the changes are poor policy. But if those messages reached the politicians responsible, they largely fell on deaf ears. Isolated complaints or letters to MPs are easy to dismiss — politicians can safely assume those critics weren’t going to vote for them anyway.
What would have worked
The only realistic way to have blocked the legislation was for large numbers of voters to make it crystal clear that they will actively campaign against any politician who supports the changes. The greater the visible backlash, the more politicians will fear losing their seats and prefer the safer option of not supporting the legislation complained of.
Unfortunately, most of us prefer to complain rather than act. Mass political mobilisation is rare because apathy is common. An overwhelming majority of us, do little more than vote and complain.
Think I’m exaggerating? Ask yourself: of those who criticised Albanese’s dishonesty or opposed the tax changes, how many have joined or donated to a party committed to repealing them? The number is almost certainly very small.
Our future
The longer the Labour Party, with the support of The Greens, remains in power, the more we’ll suffer lower living standards. The public sector will increase in size, more will be getting welfare support, and to fund these expenses, higher taxes will be levied, government will borrow more and do more ‘money printing’. This will slow the economy and increase the cost of living. And those intent on finding a way to establish and run small businesses will suffer increasing compliance burdens and red tape. This, without a change of government, is inevitable. And that’s not debateable! In every part of the world and in every century, every country that raised taxes, increased borrowings and debasing its currency to fund fiscal deficits, suffered a drop in living standards.
The same things caused the collapse of every empire in history and caused the French, Russian and Chinese revolutions and in more recent times the economic collapse of Zimbabwe and Venezuela. Surely, that’s not what we want for ourselves or for our children and grandchildren! But that’s the trajectory we’re on and have been on for a while. Our standard of living (GDP per capita) is lower than it was 13 years ago, in 2013. Are we happy with it continuing to deteriorate and for us to fall further behind many other countries? Surely, we can learn from history and stop this inevitable further decline in our living standards.
Our choice
We can accept continued deterioration, leave the country, or actively work to change the direction. I don’t want to emigrate, and I don’t want to live in a poorer Australia. That’s why I recently founded Classic Liberals Australia (www.classicliberals.org.au) – an organisation offering a practical way for people who share these values to get involved and support better policy.
If we want a more prosperous future, we must become politically active. We need to persuade others, donate, speak out, and vote consistently for the policies we support. And that will be a huge challenge – just look at the current imbalance: Labor and the Greens are well-funded by unions, wealthy donors and big corporations seeking favours, and well supported at the voting booth by our large public sector, welfare recipients, and recent low-skilled migrants. On our side, those supporting policies that will ensure a prosperous future, there is widespread apathy.
While this imbalance makes optimism difficult, the ball is in our court, we need to step up. Most of us would rather do other things with our time — I certainly would — but if not us, then who?
Australia’s future depends on enough of us choosing action over apathy. Consider getting involved with Classic Liberals Australia or another party that best aligns with your values. Your future and your family’s future are at stake, and time is running out. With more people being dependent on government for income, it will be increasingly difficult to get the numbers to change our government to one that will put us on a trajectory to higher living standards.
Written by Mark M.J. Morris (July 2026)