In this opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review on 3 October 2025, Michael Brennan suggests that the debate over size of government misses an important point: a subtle but steady change in the composition of spending over the past few decades. For the first time in 60 years, spending on in-kind services – health, aged care, childcare and the NDIS – now exceeds direct cash transfers like pensions and unemployment benefits. This shift likely makes the system less progressive overall.