Our experts

EFFIE ZAHOS

Effie is Money’s editor and author of The Great $20 Adventure. Effie says: “Can you tax your way to surplus? Time will tell but I did like the distinction between good debt and bad debt, plus am happy to pay a little more in Medicare if it means it’s retained and available for all.”

SAVANTH SEBASTIAN

Savanth is a senior economist at CommSec. Savanth says: “The government is right to focus on the need to build our infrastructure assets. And especially on transport assets. Increased spending on infrastructure is positive for a raft of industry sectors including building materials, transport, industrials, developers and contractors and consumer discretionary sectors.”

SAM HENDERSON

Sam, CEO of Henderson Maxwell, says: “My highlight was the ability for ALL over 65s to downsize their family home and contribute up to $600k to super – no age test, no work test, no $1.6m cap test. This opens up super to a whole new market of retirees who can enjoy tax-effective superannuation for longer.”

NERIDA COLE

Nerida, a super expert from Dixon Advisory, says: “The flexibility of the first home super scheme is a game changer. Incentivising extra savings without imposing restrictive time limits helps super to become even more useful for younger generations, and the integrity of the system is protected.”

SUSAN HELY

Susan has been a finance journalist for 30 years and a senior writer at Money for 10. Susan says: “It was good to see the pensioner concession card reinstated for the 92,000 seniors who lost it (and the age pension) in January. It is typically worth around $5000 to $6000 a year, depending on medical expenses.”

PAM WALKLEY

Pam was founding editor of Money and is now a senior staff writer. Pam says: “The 2017 federal budget did virtually nothing to help first-home buyers struggling with affordability issues, especially in Melbourne and Sydney. The implications of locking an entire generation out of these major centres will be far reaching, impacting every facet of people’s lives.”