SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will announce a final budget surplus of A$22.1 billion ($14.16 billion) for the year to June 2023, as strong jobs growth and bumper mining profits helped the country post the first surplus in 15 years under the Labor government.
Figures from the Treasury will show that is around 0.9% of gross domestic product, and the government will return 95% of revenue upgrades to the budget bottom line, according to excerpts reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in July that the budget surplus was likely to be a little over A$20 billion for the past financial year, up from the A$4.2 billion projected in the May budget.
By banking revenue upgrades, the government lowered gross debt by A$87.2 billion and will avoid around A$12 billion in interest payments over the five years to 2026-27, based on the excerpts.
However, the budget had been projected to return to deficit this year amid intensifying spending pressures on healthcare, energy and defence. Higher interest rates and a slower global economy are also weighing on domestic demand.
“The Albanese government has delivered this surplus at the same time as providing billions of dollars in cost-of-living relief and making vital investments in the long-term growth of our economy,” Chalmers will say.
“Despite the surplus for 2022-23, structural pressures are intensifying rather than easing on the budget and these will take more than one year or one parliamentary term to address.”
($1 = 1.5605 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
