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An Optimistic Future for Australians: I agree with Ken Henry’s Call to Action
A Commentary by Victor Perton
"Australia should be an optimistic country, open to the world, globally competitive, with high rates of productivity growth," wrote Ken Henry AC.
Ken said that in an angry article, "Cowardly politics is robbing our children blind. It’s time to be brave."
His exortation, "time to be brave" calls to mind the Yarra Valley Water team value "Be Brave... for Positive Results"
Ken calls for optimistic Australian leadership. He writes, "Australia should be an optimistic country, open to the world, globally competitive, with high rates of productivity growth. To secure that vision, we need an economic policy transformation. Kicking the policy reform can down the road simply won’t do it. Our leaders should be capable of engaging robustly and effectively with other world leaders, contributing strongly to co-ordinated global action to deal with a set of shared threats to the prosperity of future generations. Our leaders should have the courage to fix the tax system, to end the lazy reliance upon fiscal drag, to foster high rates of capital investment, and to remove tax distortions that favour investments in capital gains over investments that support productivity and real wages growth. Our leaders should understand the foundational role of natural capital. They must fix Australia’s broken environmental protection laws. The failure to do so imposes an increasingly large risk burden on a set of investments that will be required to underpin future prosperity, including renewable energy projects. And they should deliver nature repair at scale."
I think Ken is right! We need infectiously optimistic leaders prepared to share the challenges and opportunities that Australia and the world offer our people.
Australia’s future depends not just on economic reform but on leaders who inspire confidence in our shared capacity to shape that future. Optimism isn’t a luxury; it is the mindset that empowers brave decisions, collaborative innovation and national renewal. Ken Henry’s call for courage is a call for optimism, the belief that we can do better, together.
This morning at 4:30 a.m., I was on ABC Radio Overnight with Trevor Chappell. Trevor asked brilliant questions and led the conversation. The callers and people texting in were remarkable and yet typically Australian. They offered the case for optimism, from Sam, a young caller confounded by why he is usually the most optimistic person in the room, to the PTSD sufferer who spoke with wisdom about optimism and gratitude as the antidotes to despair.
Read More: Australia Needs a New Optimistic National Narrative
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