Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) | Hansard source

I'm asked about debt, and I'm happy to give some facts. Fact 1: the former government, in which the Leader of the Opposition served as a senior minister, more than doubled the debt before the pandemic.

Fact 2: when I came to office in 2022—I'm responsible for the period since then—the budget was in deficit to the tune of $78 billion, with no surplus projected at any time before 2060-61 and with nothing to show for it.

Fact 3: this Labor government has delivered the first back-to-back surplus in almost two decades.

Fact 4: debt in 2026-27 is $173 billion lower than was forecasted at the 2022 election, and this has saved around $70 billion in interest costs over that decade.

And fact 5: when it comes to global economic bodies examining objectively Labor's budget management, this is what S&P Global had to say just over a week ago:

Australia's fiscal performance is sound … Australia has modest public debt by international standards.

Moody's this week said fiscal policy has been:

… adaptive, reflected in the consolidation of pandemic-era deficits into nearly balanced budgets over a short span of time, underpinned by prudent management of commodity revenue windfalls and targeted relief measures. Debt ratios at the Commonwealth level remain low.

Fact 6: the coalition has so far made unfunded promises totalling more than half-a-trillion dollars over the next nine years—a receipt for more deficits and more debt.

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