Matt Bowes

(He/him) Posting about policy, housing, and economics. Senior Associate at the Grattan Institute. Cross-posting to and Threads.

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

@caracal_fandom We have for years contested the idea that this will have a meaningful impact on house prices.

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

You can read the full piece at the link below. 7/

https://t.co/DZpY77OyY3

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

Tax reform is hard. Its goal is to shift our tax base toward fairer and more efficient taxes. Inevitably, those who see their tax bill rise will be unhappy, while benefits to the wider economy are less apparent. My latest piece for the Conversation goes to exactly this issue. 🧵

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

That’s a shame. Because there are many more ways we could reform our tax system to boost the budget, grow the economy, and expand economic opportunity for all Australians. So if tax reform is off the table, we all lose. 6/

[The Conversation - Australia + New Zealand @ConversationEDU]

Some budget commentators have missed the mark entirely. Let's bust some myths and set the record straight. @mattdbowes https://t.co/qJzgrpKkfn

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

You can read the full report (and lengthy technical appendix) on the Grattan website. 6/
https://t.co/QQEU9k00lH

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

Parking minimums are one of the clearest examples of how legacy planning rules have let Australians down. They seek to mollify those concerned about on-street parking chaos. But they don’t work, and they make housing more expensive to build. Our new Grattan report shows how. 🧵

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

I'm hopeful that this kind of in-depth analysis can raise the bar for conversations around parking regulation in our cities. We can do better than costly parking mandates that don't respond to people's real parking needs. 5/

[Jonathan O'Brien @jonobri]

The @inflectionptswk Budget 2026 recap is out—ft. @mattdbowes, @jessywu95, and @mt_clifford.

Top-level: the budget on the whole feels like a downpayment on future reform. The next few years will really matter.

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

You can listen in at the link below, or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://t.co/ijmf7unqvk

[Matt Bowes @mattdbowes]

Had a great time yesterday chatting about all the housing announcements in this week’s federal budget with Jonathan O’Brien, Jessy Wu, and Manning Clifford, as part of the latest Inflection Points podcast. There's a lot to unpack!