From Stephen Koukoulas (“the Kouk”) comes news that public debt has exploded by $111 billion since the Abbott Government was first elected in September 2013:
As at last Friday, 28 August 2015, gross government debt was $384.7 billion – the highest level ever recorded. This represents an increase of $111 billion from the level inherited by the Abbott government in September 2013. It is just as well Treasurer Joe Hockey scrapped the debt ceiling legislation early in the Abbott government’s term because he would now be having to introduce legislation to have the ceiling raised beyond $400 billion, a figure that will be exceeded before year end.
All of which makes a mockery of the Coalition’s claims of reducing debt and deficit. It has failed dismally. Or that the level of government debt is at emergency levels and is a disaster for our economy. It isn’t.
We seldom hear those rhetorical flourishes from Mr Abbott or Mr Hockey now days as they know that under their stewardship, debt is certain to exceed $425 billion when the election is called in the second half of 2016 – it might even be $450 billion is the government keeps spending like a drunken sailor and does nothing on the revenue side to pay for it.
As revealed in today’s national accounts, the Government’s net savings deficit has increased significantly since the Abbott Government was first elected, from -$2,821 million in September 2013 to -7,862 as at June 2015:
It’s not all bad, however, with today’s June quarter GDP “saved” by a 2.2% jump in government final consumption expenditure and a 4.0% jump in public gross fixed capital formation, which together contributed 0.6ppts to GDP over the quarter.
Without the added government spending, GDP would very likely have contracting over the June quarter.
