Anthony Macdonald

So, I mean, that's trying to prevent like a rush of investors selling straight away and taking that rental stock out of the market.

Meanwhile, you'd have to think that demand stays pretty steady in terms of the people that want to rent, even though these changes are about trying to fix housing affordability.

I mean...

I think it's going to take quite a bit to really change the dynamics on that front.

At the end of the day, though, Andrew, I think we didn't hear too much about the renters in the Treasurer's budget speech, did we?

So unfortunately, the renters are probably further down the list of priorities here.

Now, Treasury did say there should be a minimal impact on the rents and the rental properties, but it looks like it's going to go against renters a bit.

Yeah, James, Dean from in Victoria, like yourself, says, at a structural level, the budget appears to be positioning Australia for three things.

Number one, investment away from existing residential housing, which is low productivity.

Number two, reducing spend on the NDIS funding, arguably also low productivity.

And number three, reducing the Commonwealth's reliance on the taxation of labour.

I've heard the Chooks talk about the need for more productivity and the concerns of an AI Armageddon a few times.

Is this budget, therefore, at least three steps in the right direction?

Yeah, there's a bucket load of money tied up in housing and that's not necessarily productive for the country.

I think there's still going to be a bucket load of money tied up in housing even after these changes.

And the actual home, like the one that you live in, your primary asset, that's looking like an even better investment now than it's ever been.

There's no tax on that.

You're going to have a nicer place to live in if you put your money there.

Once it's built, it's not really doing anything for the country.

It's not doing anything for anyone else.