Nation’s first surplus in 15 years on our doorstep, and it may be bigger than you think
Australia is tracking comfortably towards its first budget surplus in 15 years and it’s likely to be more convincing than initially predicted.
With the financial year almost over, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the 2023/24 surplus is likely to eclipse the slender $4.2 billion forecast in the May budget.
“I’m pleased to say that two days out from the end of the financial year, we’re still on track,” Dr Chalmers will say on Wednesday.
“In fact, we’re in a significantly better position than we forecast.”
The treasurer will tell the Northern Territory Property Council breakfast on Wednesday the surplus and budget management will help rebuild the nation’s buffers and take heat out of the economy to combat inflation.
“A better budget position will help us to build a better economy, and a better country – one that gives working people the security, stability and prosperity they deserve,” he will say.
You might like
A combination of higher revenues and lower payments has paved the way for the first budget surplus in 15 years, but the budget’s time in the black is likely to be fleeting.
The budget is expected to return to deficits after this financial year as commodity prices fall and the labour market cools, although the size of these forecast deficits has shrunk compared to earlier predictions.
The treasurer will also touch on the primary challenge facing the nation’s economy, high inflation, ahead of the release of the May monthly consumer price index.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is due to publish the monthly inflation update on Wednesday.
The CPI, along with retail sales data due later in the week, will be the final pieces of the economic puzzle that will inform the Reserve Bank’s July interest rate decision.
