Labor and the Coalition have waved the white flag on achieving a surplus in the next four years, as economists warn that a budget repair job of spending cuts or tax increases will be inevitable for whoever wins the election on Saturday.
Balancing the budget had been an official objective of the federal government’s fiscal policy since 1996 under Liberal treasurer Peter Costello and was a goal of subsequent treasurers – although usually breached – Wayne Swan, Chris Bowen, Joe Hockey, Scott Morrison and, initially, Josh Frydenberg before the interruption of the pandemic.
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John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury. Connect with John on Twitter. Email John at jkehoe@afr.com
