It’s been a big week for housing policy. Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan both announced policies designed to boost housing supply. Our housing experts Brendan Coates and Matthew Bowes analyse the latest policies, and discuss what else could be done to ease the housing crisis.

Negative gearing is back on the table with Jim Chalmers asking Treasury to model changes to property tax breaks. It's not a new proposal for Labor, with tax reform a hot political issue in the 2019 election. But at any mention of changes to negative gearing, landlords immediately voice concerns about losing income and having to sell up. Tenants raise issues about increasing rents. And first home buyers wonder if this will worsen their chances of getting into the market. In this podcast episode, housing experts Brendan Coates and Matthew Bowes make the case for curbing negative gearing and the capital gains tax, a change which could raise billions for the federal Budget and boost home ownership. Show notes Why negative gearing should be on the table: https://grattan.edu.au/news/why-negative-gearing-should-be-on-the-table/ On negative gearing and the 2019 federal election: https://grattan.edu.au/news/self-interest-didnt-swing-the-election-results-but-the-scare-campaign-did/ Hot Property: Negative gearing and capital gains tax reform https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/872-Hot-Property.pdf

Nuclear energy is a hotly contested topic for the upcoming election, with both sides of politics looking for a plan that enables Australia to hit net zero emissions by 2050 while maintaining an affordable, reliable energy supply. Peter Dutton has declared nuclear a central piece of the Coalition's energy plan, but with the policy light on details, there's a lot of questions left behind. What would a nuclear future look like for Australia? Does it help or hinder the pursuit of net zero? And is it cost effective for Australian taxpayers? All these questions - and more - are answered in this week's podcast with energy expert Alison Reeve, and host Kat Clay.

Gambling is everywhere. And Australia's lax approach to gambling regulation shows. We have the highest gambling losses in the world. While the federal government is considering banning gambling advertising in the wake of the Murphy Inquiry, Grattan's latest report makes the case for more regulation to minimise gambling harm in Australia. In this special podcast, authors Kate Griffiths and Elizabeth Baldwin discuss their report, A better bet: How Australia should prevent gambling harm, with host Kat Clay. Read the gambling report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/a-better-bet-how-australia-should-prevent-gambling-harm/ Who's in the room report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/whos-in-the-room/

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is failing many Australians with profound disability. More than 43,000 people with intensive support packages are seeing little benefit from a scheme that was supposed to give them greater choice and improved independence. Last year's reports from the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS review called for significant reform and a wider range of housing and support services. But neither report provided a clear and detailed roadmap to improve people's safety and give them alternate options. And the federal government's recent response to the Disability Royal Commission has kicked some of the more ambitious recommendations made by some commissioners to phase out group homes into the long grass for further consideration. So how can the government improve housing and support for Australians with intensive needs? Grattan's latest report, Better, safer, more sustainable, argues for four major reforms to improve NDIS housing and living supports. Host Kat Clay is joined by report authors, Sam Bennett and Hannah Orban. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/better-safer-more-sustainable-how-to-reform-ndis-housing-and-support/

The 2024 NAPLAN school test results show one in three Australian students are not on track with their learning. The results also reveal deep inequities in Australian schools. Indigenous children, children from disadvantaged families, and children from regional and remote areas are falling years behind their more advantaged peers as they move through school. In this special Grattan Podcast, our NAPLAN specialists Amy Haywood and Nick Parkinson identify why students are performing so poorly, and what governments should do to turn this around so all young Australians gain the literacy and numeracy skills they need to have their best chance in life.

Over the past two years, it's been hard to see an end to interest rate rises. Homeowners have been slogged with one mortgage increase after another.   Despite a couple of months of calm, another potential rate rise is looming on the horizon, with the imminent release of inflation data and a meeting of the RBA in early August.  Kat Clay and Trent Wiltshire, Deputy Program Director Economic Prosperity, discuss whether the interest rates will ever go down again, or if homeowner hell will keep going for a long time to come. Donate to Grattan: https://grattan.edu.au/donate

Vaccines save lives. Yet the likelihood an older Australian is vaccinated varies hugely by GP. For some GPs, 90 per cent of older patients are vaccinated for flu. For others, only 40 per cent are vaccinated. For COVID, shingles and pneumococcal, the gap is even bigger. In this podcast, Peter Breadon, Health Program Director, and Anika Stobart, the Senior Associate, discuss their new report, Patchy protection: How to boost GPs' patient vaccination rates. Hosted by Kat Clay. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/patchy-protection/ Read the 2023 report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/a-fair-shot-ensuring-all-australians-can-get-the-vaccines-they-need/

This week, the NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey handed down his second budget since Labor took office. At the same time, the NSW government is facing rising inflation and cost of living, increased public sector wage expenditure, and the worst of Australia’s housing crisis. Find out whether the 2024 NSW Budget tackled these key issues - and more - in this podcast with Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally and Deputy Program Director Kate Griffiths.

The federal government's 2030 emissions reduction target is under serious threat. Under the International Paris Agreement, Australia has committed to reduce its emissions to 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. But the government is not currently on track to meet these levels. It's led some members of the Opposition to call for Australia to abandon the Paris Agreement. But even if Australia can't meet these ambitious targets it has set, should it abandon the agreement? In this podcast, Kat Clay and energy expert Tony Wood discuss why Australia is not on track to meet their emissions reduction targets, whether we should abandon the Paris Agreement, and the policies that can help close this emissions gap in the coming years. Donate to Grattan: https://grattan.edu.au/donate/

Skilled migrants contribute greatly to Australia's prosperity, shaping our diverse society, making us more productive, and boosting Australians' earnings and government's budgets. Points-tested visas account for almost two thirds of all permanent skilled visas issued by Australia over the past decade.  These visas allocate points to potential migrants based on characteristics such as  their age, proficiency in English, education and work experience.  Following current trends, 800, 000 people will be granted permanent residency through points-tested visas over the next decade.  But points-tested visas aren't working as well as they should. In this podcast, Brendan Coates, Trent Wiltshire, and Natasha Bradshaw discuss their new report, It all adds up: Reforming points-tested visas. They explain how reforming the points test and abolishing state and regional points-tested visa programs could yield big economic benefits for Australia.