It's one of the most provocative policy questions in Australia right now should we put a HECS-style scheme on the family home?
This week on Exchanges, we sit down with Amy Auster CEO of the Policy Institute of Australia to to discuss this very idea. Amy unpacks the deep complexities and inequities baked into Australia's transfer and pension systems, and makes the case for innovative reforms that could fundamentally reshape the way we think about housing equity, intergenerational wealth, and fiscal responsibility.
From the growing divide between those who inherit wealth and those who don't, to the sustainability of a system that can't keep carrying the weight it's being asked to carry we exchange the hard questions and offers the kind of fresh thinking that our housing debate desperately needs.
To find out more about Amy and her work go here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyauster/
Website: https://www.policyinstitute.org.au/
Paper: Home truths: The case for rebalancing toward better means testing
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Economic Policy and Fairness
02:40 The Growth of the Social Safety Net
05:28 Means Testing and Equity in Transfer Programs
08:30 Revisiting the Age Pension and Asset Tests
10:40 Proposed Retirement Contribution Scheme
12:24 Risks and Perceptions of Borrowing Against Assets
14:13 Challenges in Implementing Policy Changes
16:04 Tax Cuts and the Transfer System
19:35 Inflation and Fiscal Discipline
21:30 Redistributing Savings for Budget Repair
23:37 Case Study: Judy and Housing Wealth
26:54 Normalising Asset Utilization in Retirement
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