A Christmas Memo to the Far Right

It has long been an Australian right wing brag that when the Howard Government left office there was no public debt on the national books.

So it was most amusing to read Messrs Hockey (Treasurer) and Cormann’s (Finance Minister) December 2013 Mid-Year Economic And Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) document which clearly states: The total face value of CGS on issue has varied significantly over time. In level terms, the largest decrease since 1970-71 occurred between 1996-97 and 2006-07, when the face value of CGS on issue roughly halved from $111.1 billion to $53.3 billion.

Commonwealth Government Securities (CGS) are of course the mechanism by which a federal government borrows money and it seems that Howard, Costello & Co left office owing at least $53.2 billion net or $58.2 billion in total.