For the first time in almost 30 years, the prospect of significant reform of Australia's tax and transfer system is being openly discussed by the federal government.

As the Member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender MP has been a leading advocate for meaningful reform, an issue that many Mannifera grant partners have also been strong advocates for.

We were thankful to have the opportunity to convene a panel conversation with the Member for Wentworth and Mannifera partners Think Forward, Foundations for Tomorrow and Per Capita.

The discussion was wide ranging, though some key themes emerged:

1. There’s appetite for reform both within Parliament and in the community, with a recent poll from McKinnon showing 66 percent of people support reform in this term if it is seen to be fair and have long-term benefits.
2. The Government remains cautious of the electoral impact of tax reform, and they’re treading carefully. A broad coalition of interests needs to mobilise in support of the reforms they want to see to de-risk the endeavour for the Government.
3. A piece-meal approach is ill-advised both in terms of policy efficacy and the political capital it takes up. Developing ‘packages’ of reforms will be more strategic.
4. Tax reforms have the ability to meaningfully change people’s quality of life, and as a flow on from this, to increase their trust in democratic institutions and processes. If tax reform is done well, it will open the door to have bigger national discussions on the future we want for Australia, and how we get there!
5. The messaging will be critical, and the debate needs to be framed in a way that people understand the importance of it, and the WHY behind it. 
6. It won’t work to pit people against each other (eg. older vs younger people, wealthy vs struggling); we need to tell the story about why reform benefits everyone in the long run (eg. through excellent public services, strong social cohesion) and the shared values it can reflect.
7. The benefit for young people is a winning electoral message.

The overarching message we were left with is that reform of Australia's tax system is both necessary and possible; and now is the moment to mobilise in support of it!

Mannifera is looking forward to continuing to working alongside a broad coalition to turn this opportunity into real change.