The MYEFO contains a treasure chest of budget numbers and here are some interesting facts highlighting the generally misunderstood spending spree of the Abbott government.
In 2012-13, Labor’s last full budget, government spending as a share of GDP was 24.1 per cent. The unwind from the GFC stimulus was more or less complete.
Mr Hockey’s MYEFO numbers show that government revenue will rise to 24.3 per cent of GDP in 2016-17 and 24.8 per cent of GDP in 2017-18.
Those of you with a sharp mind can see that if Mr Abbott had not starting spending like a proverbial drunken sailor and held government spending at Labor’s post-GFC level at 24.1 per cent, there would be budget surpluses from 2016-17 (as Labor has budgetted for under PEFO), with a budget surplus at around $13 billion in 2017-18. The fact is that for this and every year of the Abbott government’s forward estimates, government spending as a share of GDP is 25.2 per cent or more.
Just the simple facts.
