Shock as Labor is ‘set to post a SURPLUS’ in the Federal Budget next Tuesday in astonishing windfall: Here’s why
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers set to deliver surplus
- This would be federal Labor’s first since 1989
The Labor government is reportedly expecting to post a surplus in the federal Budget on Tuesday night in an astonishing fiscal turnaround.
Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell speculated the surplus would be possible as a result of surging tax revenue from higher iron ore, coal and gas, and low unemployment.
It would be the first Budget surplus since 2007, when the Coalition was in power before the Global Financial Crisis worsened.
But it would also mark the first federal Labor Budget in the black since 1989, before 18 per cent interest rates led to a recession two years later.
The Labor government is reportedly expecting to post a surplus in the federal Budget on Tuesday night in an astonishing fiscal turnaround (pictured is Treasurer Jim Chalmers)
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher did not deny a possible surplus during an interview aired on Thursday morning.
The last time a federal Labor government delivered a surplus in 1989, the late Bob Hawke was prime minister and Paul Keating was treasurer.
The incumbent Treasurer Jim Chalmers was an 11-year-old schoolboy in Brisbane.
This is all the more remarkable considering the previous Coalition government spent $300billion on Covid welfare measures, leaving a $1trillion in gross government debt.
More to follow…