Australia: Better than forecasted Federal Budget – Westpac

Australia’s Federal Treasurer Morrison released the Budget Outcome for the 2016/17 financial year and the result was a little better than forecast by the Government in the May 2017 Budget, points out Andrew Hanlan, Senior Economist at Westpac.

Key Quotes

“The underlying cash deficit for 2016/17 came in at $33.2bn, -1.9% of GDP, some $4.4bn below the forecast of $37.6bn (-2.1% of GDP).”

“Total receipts surprised to the high side by $4.1bn, while payments were $1.2bn lower than anticipated. Future Fund earnings, which are not included in the budget balance, surprised to the upside by $0.9bn.”

“Net general government debt at June 2017 is $322.3bn (18.4% of GDP), some $2.8bn lower than forecast.”

“In keeping with tradition, no figures or commentary are provided for the current financial year and beyond.”

“The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Update for 2017/18 is likely to be released by late December.”