May 21, 2026 — 8:00pm Photo: Cathy WilcoxTo submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.I can’t believe how inconsiderate we can be to each other. Labor’s changes to housing taxes will result in the following within the next few months. First home buyers will be free from competing with property investors who up to now outbid them due to their ability to negatively gear the purchase. Without the ability to negatively gear, investors won’t buy existing houses. This provides first home buyers a new market where they only have to compete among themselves. This will mean that the price of properties will fall over time. Isn’t this wonderful? I am sick to death of my fellow Baby Boomers screaming blue murder when they not only own their own homes but rental properties too. Give young Australians a chance. Anthony Albanese is.John Rome, Mt Lawley, WAA welcome intervention by KeatingIt was both timely and welcome to see Paul Keating headlining The Age (″⁣Keating says CGT attacks fuelled by naked greed″⁣, 21/5). I’d just been thinking of his line “in the game of life always back self-interest because at least you know it’s trying”. Here’s hoping he inspires our mostly insipid federal government to hold the line. Perhaps they could also take another look at Keating’s words on the AUKUS subs scam.Mark Freeman, MacleodWeighing up the impacts on societyOf course, the country needs to encourage new businesses to grow the economic pie. Whether start-ups and potential investors in growth businesses deserve to pay lower tax rates requires deep consideration. It seems that while the entrepreneurial class grow the pie they also increase their share of it. Over time other classes see that they are slipping behind in terms of income and wealth distribution. Such has been the case in the US where those other classes have realised the system hasn’t worked for them. So they have sought a change through the political system. The outcome has been Donald Trump. The societal impacts of wealth redistribution to wealthier classes through differential tax rates needs to be taken into account when considering changing comparative tax rates in our society.John Groom, BentleighToo much complexity, all at onceThe Albanese government is making the same mistake as Bill Shorten made in 2019. The policies are fine but too much that is complex is being tried at the one time. Removing negative gearing on investment purchases of existing houses and winding back of capital gains exemptions on the sale of second houses, are relatively easy to understand and benefit the younger generation. The social consequences of not making these changes are catastrophic and easily grasped by the young and the socially concerned older generations.The other capital gains changes are a much harder sell and far more contentious for many people. The government has gifted a golden opportunity to the opposition to muddy the waters and attack the whole package. By trying for too much, one of Australia’s most needed reforms has been put at risk. The government will be putting out bushfires on multiple fronts and losing the simple, direct message. It still isn’t too late to abandon the extraneous capital gains proposals in order to get the critical measures through.Michael Fewster, HawthornFoster the ambitions of the risk-takersAustralia is at a crossroads and we face a stark choice between success and failure. Will we reward enterprise or celebrate failure? Anthony Albanese says risk takers should be taxed the same as wage earners. But what risk do wage earners take? Entrepreneurs risk all to establish and grow businesses. If risk-takers do not see reward for effort they will not take risks. Businesses will close and entrepreneurs and capital will move overseas. The tax take will reduce and we all lose.Wayne Alexander, ElthamTHE FORUMHanson’s icebergPauline Hanson’s call for ″⁣royalties from gas and oil projects″⁣ (21/5) is like an iceberg – most of the detail is beneath the surface. While the proposal appears to acknowledge shifting community sentiment about taxing the big gas companies, beneath the surface her proposal is actually about shifting ″⁣exploration risks″⁣ from the mining companies to the government.In addition, Hanson is clearly mounting her own expedition to increase and diversify her pool of donations from the mining sector, beyond Gina Rinehart.However, any royalty or tax scheme should focus on establishing a climate compensation fund to repair, restore and adapt to climate impacts, not one which worsens the energy and climate problem.Brenda Tait, NorthcoteLibs’ case studyThe Byzantine antics of the Victorian Liberal Party should be studied, for case study purposes, by political science students (″⁣How the west is being lost by the Liberal Party″⁣, 21/5). Its entrenched death wish is stunning in its ineptitude. The internal collapse of its South Asian diaspora support base in Point Cook, Tarneit and Werribee reads like the medical equivalent of a massive coronary attack.How is it possible that a political party could, in effect, turn its back on a dynamic multicultural support base consisting of aspirant and highly educated citizens? In traditionally Menzies-like Liberal Party terms, these individuals would represent the ideal of free enterprise-inclined families and some would say the future of Australia. Their home should be the Liberal Party. Behold a fiasco.Jon McMillan, MorningtonLesson in inequityYour correspondent (Letters, 21/5) argues that “governments need to continue to fund private schools because it allows more parents to choose to enrol their children in private schools″⁣.Unfortunately, most parents are unable to pay the private school fees so we end up with a system that the poor are being locked out of well-resourced schools. So much for the so-called “fair go for everyone″⁣.Sharon Allan, Moonlight FlatAspiring to a homeYour correspondent (Letters, 20/5) hit the nail on the head. Attacks on the government’s much-needed tax reform are absolutely “a defence of greed”. Most young people have only one aspiration; to buy one home of their own to live in. Investors are losing nothing but tax perks.Julie Perry, HightonTax benefitsIn the debate of the proposed taxation changes much has focused on unfairly taking money from individual’s pockets. There has been scant acknowledgment of the function of taxation, which is to provide myriad services to all the community, including disadvantaged groups not to mention the arts, which are the soul of our society. Whenever there is a crisis fire, flood and disease the community rightly expects an immediate and comprehensive government response. All of this is funded by our taxation system.If we accept that we are a community and not just a bunch of individuals, then it needs to be understood that balancing the needs of the community and encouragement of individual enterprise is a complex process. In this debate it is vital to respect the integral role taxation plays in providing the services and responses necessary to make Australia a modern, democratic and compassion society, and one in which every person is able to live decently and thrive.Rosie Hayes, St KildaHigher education’s valueThere are some of us still around who thank Gough Whitlam for their free university education. Since a user pays system has been in place, the real cost is being borne by students who are being saddled with student loans that keep rising until they can be paid off, if and when, well-paying jobs can be found. Universities currently rely heavily on overseas students to remain economically viable. How that will play out under the Coalition’s proposed crackdown on immigration must make vice-chancellors’ heads spin. Tertiary-educated students add value to society in so many ways. We need to value their education in all areas from philosophy, through to art and theoretical mathematics and not just for filling gaps in the workforce. If tertiary education is as valuable as politicians make out, then it should be properly funded.Greg Tuck, WarragulHard footy mathsCould it be that the AFL is getting too smart for its own good? The fact is that with 19 teams the percentage of winning a premiership is about 5 per cent. If teams have their best players ripped away from them, then the supporters the AFL take for granted may well just dissipate.Michael McKenna, WarragulIt’s not marvellous at allIf your correspondent (Letters, 19/5) thought the cacophony at the MCG was bad, he’d best avoid Marvel Stadium. Any attempt at atmosphere and enjoyment is quickly snuffed out by the constant noise provided by extremely loud announcements (and I use the term loosely) and deafening music interspersed by equally cringe-inducing ads. It’s impossible to have a conversation with other attendees.Then, of course, there’s the celebratory song after the home team kicks a goal. As a Richmond member, I’m so glad my club has said no to that. A gentle trill on the didgeridoo after a gaol – no song blasting out.Did I mention the constant blinding lights at Marvel? It’s not the circus. It’s football.Dell Wilson, Caulfield EastRemoving the tabooThe article “Drive to end stigma of mental illness” (18/5) is welcomed and important.Schizophrenia remains one of the last taboo subjects in ordinary conversation, even though it affects many families. More accurate public understanding could reduce fear, shame and silence, and may encourage people to seek help earlier.But reducing stigma must be matched by practical support.Recent family experience has shown me how often people with ongoing psychotic symptoms are discharged because they are not judged to be an immediate danger to themselves or others. They may be given a few nights in temporary accommodation, but no medium- or long-term follow-up.This is not recovery It is a revolving door. Community-based psychosocial support – housing, outreach, clinical follow-up and practical help – should not be an afterthought once the crisis has passed. It is central to recovery.Without that support, we are not ending stigma so much as leaving people and families to manage the consequences alone.Christine Stanton, HawthornMore teachers neededYour correspondents’ responses to the NAPLAN analysis (Letters, 20/5) do not mention teacher supply. Nor has there been any attention to this in the budget. Some of us remember the Disadvantaged Schools Program and taught in schools where extra teachers, funded by the federal government, made a huge difference.Well-qualified teachers are the essential ingredient for student success. There is a crisis in teacher supply, especially in some core subjects such as mathematics. The well-funded private schools can attract the good teachers with better pay and conditions. The public schools then compete among themselves for what is available. And out-of-field teaching is rife.The failure on the part of the federal government to ensure that the universities offer the degrees that underpin teacher supply is a major contributor to disadvantage, especially in mathematics. In regional Victoria, only La Trobe Bendigo has a degree in mathematics.There is no mathematics degree west of central Melbourne. This not only limits teacher supply but also limits the career choices for many young people, and mathematical expertise to business, industry and research.Jan Thomas, Nth MelbournePhrase goes pair-shapedI have a question for columnist David Astle, possibly not a new one. We talk about a pair of glasses, trousers, even knickers, when “they” are a singular item. Yes, two eyes and two legs are involved, but why are they expressed as plurals?Maureen Goldie, Blackwood, SAFirst, a homeWhere does share-trading and discretionary trust distribution sit on the pyschological theory Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Housing is right there at the bottom – a basic human need offering shelter, safety and security. We must have it before we can move onto explore love and belonging; self respect and ultimately, personal self-fulfilment. Get housing settings right first and then we can talk about aspiration.Annie Woodger, East Brunswick3000 days gets you thereThe casting of a statue of Daniel Andrews follows the convention established by Jeff Kennett, to honour all premiers who served 3000 days in the job, and agreed by both major parties. It is not a wasteful whim of Jacinta Allan’s.Also it is not supposed to depend on whether the subject is liked or disliked by the current premier – or opposition leader.Geoff Dalton, East Malvern Photo: Matt GoldingAND ANOTHER THINGFinanceStrange that when the Coalition is in government budget cuts to social welfare are often referred to as prudent economic management but whenever a Labor government tries to claw back tax breaks given to better-off Australians it’s labelled as class warfare.Phil Alexander, ElthamThere are two certainties in life – death and taxes. Whatever you pay or don’t pay in taxes you certainly can’t take with you at death.Peter Randles, Pascoe Vale SouthVictorian teachers are about to get a substantial wage increase. How much will they lose in tax by bracket creep?William Holmes, KewYour correspondent (Letters, 21/5) suggested a brilliant new scheme for tax evasion. Death. I anticipate articles for “aspirational” readers on how you can really take it with them.Glenn Wood, Bardon, QldIf I was young starting up a new business, I would invest every last cent in the business rather than gamble it on the stock exchange.John Uren, BlackburnFurthermoreThe ABC Science newsletter announced the discovery of a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth, which had definite indications of dentistry. So proud to have been a member of the newest, oldest profession.Les Aisen, ElsternwickBravo and well done to Melbourne’s Bianca Adler climbing Mount Everest (″⁣Schoolgirl becomes youngest Australian to conquer Everest″⁣, 21/5). At 94 (and three-quarters), some days I can hardly climb the stairs.Myra Fisher, Brighton EastRegardless of what the top of the Daniel Andrews statue looks like, the base should be the 1, 2 and 3 blocks to reflect the Commonwealth Games debacle.John Murray, Hawthorn EastFinallySpot on to your correspondent (Letters, 20/5). I’m a proud Victorian togs man myself.Dan Drummond, LeongathaFrom our partners