Circling back to this morning’s breakfast TV interviews, independent senator Jacqui Lambie, in an impassioned speech, called on the government to have some “courage” and change negative gearing tax concessions.

Negative gearing re-entered public debate last week after this masthead reported that the Albanese government asked Treasury for expert advice on possible changes.

Lambie said she and fellow independent senator David Pocock had received modelling from the budget office on her plan to let people negatively gear up to two houses and allow the preservation of existing arrangements by grandfathering negative gearing.

“There’s 75 per cent of people out there that only have one or two houses,” Lambie said, adding that negative gearing would then only hit “the other 25 per cent, who have more than enough money”.

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Lambie called on the government to follow the plan, accusing politicians of being too concerned with preserving power to make the changes.

“This is what I’ve had a gutful with our leaders, and this is what Australians are telling me. They want to see some leadership and they want to see some courage. And right now, we’ve got none in the military. We’ve got none in our universities, and we’ve got none in politics,” Lambie said.

“All [politicians] are worried about is keeping their butts on the seat. Seriously, start putting the nation first and stop worrying about an election and the power that it gives you, which it does not, because it does not give you respect.”