Governments need to be more courageous about pursing tough reforms instead of stalling by saying changes need to be put to voters first, a think tank economist says. Australia Institute chief economist Richard Denniss criticised consecutive governments for delaying important reforms by saying they did not have a mandate because the policies were not taken to an election. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementLabor also changed legislated tax cuts without taking that to an election, he said. "We need that public pressure, but we also need a politician to have the bravery to pursue their convictions with everything they got." Dr Denniss said it took decades to enact public interest reforms that other nations or states and territories had done, but Australia was not adverse to "big, bold ideas".