MenuHomeSearchSearch‌‌The West AustralianTuesday, 6 May 2025OpinionChevron Right IconKim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionShould a robot tax be levied to boost the public purse?Every time someone loses their job to AI, the public purses loses the income it would have received in income and pay roll tax. Do we need to tax robots?Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionOpinionCommentsPremiumopinionBudget overlooks mental health of our stressed-out nationThe Federal Budget missed an opportunity to help mental health issues for a very stressed-out nation.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionHousing MarketCommentsopinionIf home-ownership is your goal, you shouldn’t buy a new petOwning a dog can delay homeownership by two and a half years, so be sure to do the maths to ensure you can afford a puppy.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionYoung people are missing out on one of life’s greatest joysThe broad sense of loneliness and disconnection among young people today strikes me as the most concerning aspect of the Youth in Focus report.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionThe rookie error that hampered a property investmentContrary to a famous quip by author Mark Twain, in some property markets, they are still making land.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionWhich jobs will remain safe from the rise of machines?AI is continually surprising us with its abilities. Who would have ever thought bots could get university students to achieve better test results than the best Harvard tutors?Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionMore station parking will entice West Aussies to take trainOne train station car bay for every 2000 train trips is a low ratio. Ironically, more car bays will boost train useage.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionStudent towers are great, but let’s not forget the oldiesSeniors are a great fit for city life — with oodles of spare time, cash to enjoy its cultural highlights and amenities in walking distance. So why don’t we have seniors’ towers like we do for students?Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKIM MACDONALDCommentsPremiumopinionLearning from Europe’s charming mid-rise apartment blocksPerth has never really embraced medium density housing - or done it well. But Europe can teach us how charming mid rise life can be.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionBattlers doing it four times tougher in housing marketJust as Howard’s battlers were won over by the introduction of first home buyers grants in the late 90s, the same cohort will be rushing to polling booth.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionWhy time is the most valuable thing you will ever spendWA dads offer their advice to high school and university graduates on how to approach life.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionThe graduate advice no-one asked for, from Perth mumsMoney can buy happiness - or at least save you stress - and other advice for graduates from Perth mumsKim MacdonaldopinionopinionKIM MACDONALDPremiumopinionWake up to the insidious abuse known as coercive controlSociety has long been asleep while so many woman have suffered under coercive control, assuming they would just leave a relationship if it was really bad. But it does not always work that way.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionWorld-proof children because you can’t child-proof the worldToday’s social media users are like the smokers of the 1930s - we are guinea pigs - because neither generation knew the full consequences of their actions.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionBuilders should be made to pay up for long overdue buildsThe State Government protects itself against delays when it builds through liquidated damages, but mum and dad builders are expected to just cop it when their homes hit a standstill.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionWhy Korean landlords are happy tenants live rent-freeIn the jeonse system, instead of a monthly rent, tenants pay a one-time deposit typically worth 50 to 80 per cent of the market value of the property. It is returned two years later when the lease expires.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacDonaldCommentsPremiumopinionHigh-rise apartments aren’t full of sex pestsThe key test for the State Government will be how it allocates funding for housing. Will it go to established communities that need housing diversity? Or will it simply be used to populate new Metronet areas?Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionOpinionCommentsPremiumopinionWhy the $1 billion DV spend will barely dent the crisisThe move to boost shelters for women and children escaping domestic violence in the Federal Budget is a great start. But it will barely make a dent in the broader crisis.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionPropertyCommentsPremiumopinionIs Perth about to become ‘so Melbourne’?In many conversations around town, Melbourne is used as an adjective rather than a noun. ‘It’s very Melbourne,’ we say when we hang a chandelier in a laneway.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionHow our love affair with stuff sparked self-storage boomSelf-storage has become a lucrative industry, thanks to our great love of stuff.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionExtravagant public art is a luxury we can no longer affordTo put it bluntly, I think it is time to debate the State Government’s Per Cent for Art program.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsopinionHow changes to negative gearing could boost housing supplyOnly a quarter of property investors build new homes, but there is a way to get them too boost housing supply.Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionHow sellers are getting stuck with massive repair billsWho is responsible for the repair bill when a home is sold — buyers or sellers?Kim MacdonaldopinionopinionKim MacdonaldCommentsPremiumopinionFalling down the Insta rabbit hole with wellness warriorsNew Year, healthy new you, and Instagram is here to help — apparently.Kim MacdonaldLoad More