The economy is expected to grow and there are other positive signs ahead but the mid-year economic update has revealed the government will need to keep inflation in check.
The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) shows the federal budget is headed for a small $1.1 billion deficit this financial year, according to the update.
The government budgets for the unannounced because it doesn’t want its projections to “blow out” during the campaign.This gives us an idea of how much, but not what, is in store.
The federal government has announced A$850 million for 10,000 additional home-care packages, as part of $1 billion for aged care. Here’s why that’s not nearly enough.
I’d hoped to keep my absence nice and private, especially from those quiet Australians fighting fires. Regrettably, despite best efforts, my press office wasn’t able to keep a lid on the story.
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Mathias Cormann and Jim Chalmers on the mid-year budget update
The Conversation, CC BY29.7 MB(download)
The figures indicate a worsening economy, but the government has sought to put a positive spin on the situation, saying the Australian economy is showing resilience.
MYEFO contains a long-overdue admission: that low wage growth is the new normal. It’ll take extraordinary spending restraint to make the surplus forecasts stick.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne