Former treasurer praises Chalmers budget as 'first payment' to future generations
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, Henry highlights funding for bioregional planning and an independent Environment Protection Agency as critical steps toward intergenerational equity.
Former treasurer Ken Henry has commended Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ 2026 federal budget as a significant step toward economic reform and intergenerational equity. In an opinion piece published in The Guardian on 13 May 2026, Henry described the budget as an overdue first payment to future generations, contrasting it with decades of what he characterised as piecemeal funding and fiscal irresponsibility regarding natural capital.
Henry argued that the budget addresses long-standing structural issues by prioritising urgent economic reforms and investing in environmental protection, rather than leaving them in the too-hard basket. He noted that while the tax system has not yet delivered the surplus or productivity growth expected 16 years after the Rudd government’s tax review, the current approach mirrors the policy disciplines that drove reforms in the 1980s and 1990s.
The article highlights specific policy shifts, including funding for bioregional planning under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, increased resources for Environment Information Australia, and the establishment of an independent national Environment Protection Agency. These measures aim to close the gap between parliamentary intent and implementation, a disconnect Henry noted was evident following the sweeping EPBC Act reforms passed in December 2025 with the support of Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
Henry identified bioregional planning as a critical mechanism for moving away from project-by-project assessments, which he described as the most expensive and least effective way to manage landscapes. He argued that upfront mapping of development zones and restoration priorities would provide industry with certainty and ensure large-scale economic transformation places the environment at the centre of decision-making.
The piece suggests a shift towards a fully functioning market for nature restoration, moving away from the current EPBC offsets system which Henry characterises as focused on development compliance rather than landscape recovery. He claims there is now serious private capital flowing towards the recovery of soil, water, habitat and species, a development he links to the new budgetary direction and the establishment of a regulator with genuine independence and enforcement capability.
Henry concluded that while the budget does not clear the debt accumulated by taking from the natural capital of future generations, it marks a credible shift toward holding industries accountable for ecological damage and securing a sustainable future for Australians.