Welcome to the decade of budget deficits

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Data from the Australian ­Office of Financial Management (AOFM) shows that the nation’s total debt ­totalled $983.7 billion as of last Friday. This was set to rise above $1 trillion for the first time on Thursday due to two new debt issuances worth $13 billion and $4 billion, respectively.

However, total debt will fall below this milestone on Friday, when some $6 billion worth of debt matures.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has forecast that total federal and state debt will increase steadily over the coming years.

Government debt
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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