Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Albanese government has made “some really substantial progress” on reducing Australia’s gross debt, with the mid-year budget update set to be released on Wednesday.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged a “substantial” improvement in Australia’s gross debt forecasts ahead of Wednesday’s mid-year budget update.
Speaking to Sky News Australia’s Kieran Gilbert on Sunday, the Treasurer said the government had made “really substantial progress” in getting debt down and getting the budget into better shape.
“I can confirm for you Kieran, that gross debt will peak lower as a share of the economy as a consequence of our responsible economic management – people can expect to see that in the mid-year budget update,” Mr Chalmers said on Sunday Agenda.
The Treasurer said that under the previous government, Australia’s debt was projected to be “well north of a trillion dollars” for the 2023-24 financial year, but the government had managed to get that much closer to $900 billion.
“That saves us tens of billions of dollars in interest costs,” Mr Chalmers said, adding that interest on government debt was “now one of the fastest growing areas of spending in our budget”.
“By dealing with the debt, by getting the budget in much better nick, by delivering that surplus, by getting the deficits much smaller, we avoid a big chunk of interest costs.”
“And that means we can use that money to either repair the budget, to invest in cost of living or relief or to invest in the future of our economy.”
However Mr Chalmers was quick to point out that paying down Australia’s debt – which exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic – was not a task for one budget or even one parliamentary term.
“You can’t just click your fingers and make all of this debt disappear, but… we have made some really substantial progress,” the Treasurer said.
( Sky news )
