In the weeks leading up to a federal election, Australians are typically treated to a mix of promises, pork-barrelling, and policy pivoting. But this time around, something more calculated—and more dangerous—is afoot. Anthony Albanese and his hapless Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, are quietly laying the groundwork for an ideological legacy that could do more damage to rural Australia than a decade of drought.

The risk? A calculated redistribution of wealth from the asset-rich, income-poor class—i.e., Australia’s farmers—to fund the pet projects of inner-city progressives. The method? Tax reform, veiled under the soft language of “fairness” and “equity.”

Let’s not be fooled. This government’s DNA is hardwired to the economic left. Albanese is a lifelong factional warrior of the Socialist Left, whose own speeches in Hansard reveal deep hostility toward the so-called capitalist asset-owning class. As early as 1991, he praised the redistributionist policies of European social democracies and lambasted Australia’s economic liberalisation under Hawke and Keating as a betrayal of Labor values.

Chalmers, for his part, is no less ideologically committed. His 2023 Quarterly Essay, titled “Capitalism After the Crises”, was a manifesto for remaking capitalism in Australia’s progressive image. In it, he writes:

“We can no longer rely on markets alone to deliver social outcomes. The future of capitalism must involve an active, forward-leaning state, reshaping and directing capital flows to where they are needed most.”

Translation: wealth must be redistributed from the rich to the poor no matter how undeserving the poor are and how hard the rich worked to aquire their wealth as all wealth is theft hence the government’s role is to decide where, how and how much gets transferred.

This worldview materialised in chilling form in the government’s 2023 policy to tax unrealised capital gains on superannuation balances over $3 million. That’s right: not just the money earnt or withdraw, but the paper gains on investments—regardless of whether they are sold or held.

Despite protests from industry groups and superannuation rights groups Chalmers held the line, insisting:

“This is about fairness. We can’t continue to provide generous tax concessions to those with the most super savings while working Australians struggle to retire with dignity.”

And Albanese? He backed the policy to the hilt, while simultaneously swearing off any broader tax increases.

But let’s remember, this is the same Prime Minister who promised over 100 times before the 2022 election not to tinker with legislated stage 3 tax cuts. Which means he has no shame when it comes to lying pre-election.

If you want a preview of what comes next, look no further than the UK, where Labour leader Keir Starmer—another former socialist turned political pragmatist—is running an economic sleight-of-hand campaign. On one hand, in the lead up to their last election he promised not to make radical changes to the tax system.

But once they were ensconsed in Downing street the UK Prime Minister introduced significant changes to the taxation of farmland after winning the general election. These reforms were announced in the October 2024 Autumn Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.?

The new inheritance tax rules will take effect from April 6, 2026 with only the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property qualifying for 100 per cent relief from inheritance tax.

Assets exceeding the £1 million threshold will be subject to a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate, with the tax liability spread over a 10-year period. To put that in context, in Australian terms a $10m farm brought when land was $200 an acre and sold for $2000 cheap would be hit with a tax bill of up to $200,000 a year for a decade. 

Like Chalmers, Starmer wraps their socialist redistribution plans in language about “closing loopholes” and ensuring “everyone pays their fair share.”

Now, let’s turn our eyes back to Canberra. Should Albanese scrape through a narrow win in May, he will be only the second PM in 30 years to secure a second term. But make no mistake: his political clock is ticking so he needs something to leave as his legacy.

Having failed to enshrine the Voice, he will want to go down in history as more than just the guy who brought back free TAFE. Like Keating before him, who gave us Native Title, Albanese is itching for a lasting policy signature.

Enter: the two-tier tax system.  With the Super tax extended to other forms of capital gains.

Imagine this: a capital gains regime that taxes unrealised gains across all assets over $3 million—land, shares, property, farms. Not just for super accounts, but for individuals.

Let’s not forget that Albo’s proposal to tax superannuation balances exceeding $3 million was announced on February 28, 2023, after the last federal election, not before.

The policy aims to increase the concessional tax rate on earnings for these balances from 15 per cent to 30 per cent, starting from July 1, 2025

As of April 2025, the enabling legislation had not been passed but no doubt should labor win the the changes will pass (those who voted for the Greens and Teals from rich suburbs might learn a painful lesson.

Approximately 80,000 Australians, representing about 0.5 per cent of superannuation account holders with earnings on superannuation balances above $3 million being taxed at 30 per cent, while earnings on balances below this threshold will continue to be taxed at the existing 15 per cent rate.? Here is the beauty of the legislation for the government the $3 million threshold is not indexed to inflation so over time that 0.5 per cent will become 5 per cent and eventually 50 per cent of super policy holders.

A quick look at the electoral map shows why this government feels safe at targeting those with a degree of wealth. The ALP’s real base is still outer urban—the red belts of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Whereas regional Australia, far from where the 80,000 holders of more than $3m in super and the 80,000 farmers live, overwhelmingly vote blue.

What better policy for the Left than to go after the 1 per cent of the voting capitalist class in one simple policy with no political cost as the inner seats will be held by the Teals and the country seats by the Liberal and Nationals.

After all, it’s not their base that’ll feel the pain. And they’ll spin it as a blow against the privileged class, nothing like a bit of class envy to get the socialists’ juices running and we are talking about a hopeless socialist government.

But for farmers, it would be devastating. Because once you set a precedent for taxing unrealised gains, there is no going back.

It becomes a tool for ideologues to reshape the economy, punish generational wealth, and finance their ideological fancies. It would be taking us back to the days of inheritance taxes forcing farming families to sell assets to pay phantom tax bills, something that is now locked and loaded into the UK tax system.

The end result is the end of the intergenerational farming family and the takeover of corporate farming by another creature of Keating, the superannuation system, which just loves to buy a big asset class like rural land.

Final thoughts

So here is the takeaway in these final days before the election:

• Beware a Prime Minister with nothing to lose.
• Beware a Treasurer who dreams of remaking capitalism in his own image.
• Beware a party that finds policy inspiration from across the socialist seas.
• And most of all, beware any politician who talks about taxing unrealised capital gains and refuses to rule it out. Because if they won’t rule it out now, imagine what they’ll do once they think no one can stop them.