2020 Summit - Henry's shopping list

They come in the order in which they pop into Henry's elderly mind. Bright younger folk can provide the cost-benefit calculations and argue about the ordering of priorities.

1. Introduce a tough budget, control burgeoning labour costs and support the Reserve Bank's attempts to control inflation, without of course doing too much damage to prospects for jobs for all.

2. Reform the welfare system to abolish middle class welfare and the associated "tax and welfare churn". Greatly improve the margin between tax and welfare to improve incentives for people to work and to save, and to become more self-sufficient.

3. Free up Australia's migration system to allow more entry of guest workers, including folk from the poor nations in our region, as well as skilled workers from just about everywhere.

4. Maintain the never-ending task of improving the lot of Australia's poorest citizens, including the disproportionate numbers of Indigenous Australians caught in vicious circles of poverty, dysfunctional families, sexual and drug abuse and general helplessness.

5. Take very seriously indeed Professor Ross Garnaut's report on climate change, and introduce a carbon trading scheme and/or a carbon tax, if possible co-ordinated with the policies of the rest of the world. If the rest of the world does not follow, plan for the worst possible climate change the boffins at the CSIRO can imagine.

6. Provide much higher subsidies for people to install water tanks and solar panels on houses and business premises.

7. Spend more on innovation, with a bias to renewable energy and carbon sequestration.

8. Allow "negative gearing for entrepreneurs" to help make Australia a more innovative nation, paid for by reducing or at least cutting back on negative gearing for property owners and share traders.

9. Restore a sensible level of funding for Australia's universities and other publicly funded research organisations and encourage specialisation.

10. Add to this list the single best new idea from the 2020 Summit but do not forget item one on Henry's list of existing key priorites.