Australia’s budget is expected to spiral into deeper deficits over the next four years as government spending outweighs revenue.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers today blamed the deficits on “unavoidable spending” while delivering the Mid-Year Economic Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO).
The deficit this year, $26.9 billion, is a “little bit smaller than expected”, Chalmer said.
Over the next four years, it’s forecast the deficit will balloon to a combined $143 billion – some $21.8 billion worse than at budget.
Chalmers and Finance Minister Katie Gallagher said $8.8 billion in spending was for unavoidable projects including new infrastructure and domestic violence funding.
“We have made a lot of progress,” Chalmers said today.
“We are on track for a soft landing in our economy. The economy is growing, but slowly.”
“Our gross debt position is a fraction of what we see in comparable countries,” he added.
