If today was budget day, the picture wouldn't be pretty
A check-up on how the federal budget is tracking reveals a spiralling deficit and debt, and government borrowing could reach 27 per cent of GDP in four years.
Just eight weeks ago, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was within reach of delivering a cash surplus for 2019-20 (the first surplus since 2007-08) and reconfirming modest surpluses over the forward years.
Now eight weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic has had the budget deferred to October. The government has so far committed to fiscal stimulus totalling $193 billion (10 per cent of GDP) from April through to September 2020.
