I Read the IGR So You Don’t Have To

I read Jim Chalmers’ 352-page 2026 Intergenerational Report so you don’t have to.

Treasury’s 40-year brochure says AI will transform Australia because we have “abundant renewable energy.” Then you open Chart 3.2: coal falls off a cliff, nuclear isn’t invited, and the grid is rooftop solar, paddock solar and wind — weather for power. Data centres don’t run on a nice afternoon. Microsoft leased a reactor. Colossus burns gas. Jupiter sits on fuel cells. We offered a picnic menu taped to a steel mill.

Same book, Chart 13.6: GST frozen, company tax parked, personal income tax the only wedge allowed to get fatter. Wages for tax. They cap the total at 24.2% of GDP so it looks tidy, then let PAYG fill every hole they won’t touch. Generative AI writes the speech. Agentic AI files it. Physical AI looks at those two charts and builds the factory somewhere with firm power and a tax mix that isn’t a timesheet.