According to the Australian government’s mid-year review, spending on sectors like health care and family support will be slashed in order to help meet the budget surplus.
Recently released budget papers detail money-saving methods like altering the way companies pay their taxes and restraining the baby-bonus. The papers also comment that 700 million Australian Dollars will be saved over the course of four years through adapting the private health-insurance rebate.
It was also disclosed in the release that Australia’s export prices relative to import prices will drop 8 per cent over the course of this financial year, 2.25 per cent more than predicted in May’s budget.
In May government spending for the year ending June 30th was forecast to be 364.2 billion Australian Dollars. That figure has now been revised to 363.2 billion.
If the planned spending cuts contribute to the ending of four years of deficits it will give the nation’s central bank the room required to further reduce the highest benchmark rate amongst key developed nations.
The Australian economy is now expected to record 3 per cent growth in 2012-13, quarter of a percentage point lower than forecast in May.
In a statement released in Canberra today Treasurer Wayne Swan asserted: ‘While global headwinds, a high dollar and changing consumer behaviour are weighing on some sectors, the Australian economy is expected to outperform every major advanced economy this year and next, with growth underpinned by strong investment, strong growth in export volumes and solid growth in consumption.’ Swan went on to affirm that Australia remains a ‘beacon of strength’ in these troubling financial times even if the global slowdown is making delivering the surplus more difficult to achieve.
The Pound to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 1.2295
The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.6046
The Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.5546
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.3046
The Euro to Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.8130
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