As Treasurer Jim Chalmers prepares to announce the budget later today, which is expected to deliver a surplus, speculation is rife in the corridors of power.
In an interview with ABC Radio, he confirmed that a surplus will indeed be announced.
“The key to these two surpluses is the fact that when we’ve had upward revisions to revenue, because the labour market’s been stronger, or our exports have performed well, we’ve banked almost all of those,” Chalmers said.
He added that without government spending restraint, the surpluses would not have been possible.
However, recent GDP figures show government spending has increased by 1.4 percent.
Katherine Keenan, head of national accounts at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), stated on Sept. 4 that state and local expenditure had contributed to growth, driven by a rise in employee expenses.
Chalmers maintained that while higher commodity prices had helped, they were not the only reason behind the surplus.
“The improvement from our expectations of the surplus in May to the final budget outcome that we’re reporting today is not about more revenue, higher commodity prices, or more taxes—it’s about less spending,” he said.
“We always take a deliberately conservative approach to commodity prices, and that’s been warranted.”
The Opposition has called Chalmers’ claims superficial.
Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume accused him of failing to address the structural deficit.
“The hard work, the hard decisions, haven’t been made by Jim Chalmers,” Hume told Sky News Australia.
“He hasn’t scratched the surface of the structural budget deficit we are facing. We’re looking at a much higher deficit in the next financial year, and higher still after that. This demonstrates that the hard work hasn’t been done to improve the structural bottom line.”
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie also criticised the government, stating, “Nobody gives a stuff about a surplus.”
Referring to recent inflation and GDP data, she said, “I can assure you right now, people are doing it hard out there.”
She added that a surplus in the current economic environment means little.
“If they truly understood that, they’d be saying, ‘how about putting some of that surplus towards us, so we can put bread and milk on the table for our kids without raising inflation.’ People are really hurting out there. Honestly, give them more. Find a way to do it.”
