The Albanese government has spent $60 billion more than it has saved since coming to office, veteran budget watcher Chris Richardson says, causing structural damage to the budget and helping to propel public sector expenditure to record highs.

Australia’s fiscal health became a talking point of the last sitting week of parliament when Deloitte Access Economics predicted the federal government’s finances would deteriorate by $49 billion this financial year, representing the largest single-year deterioration in the budget balance on record outside the pandemic.