The rosier than forecast budget outlook comes after the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, flagged the government will continue to boost the economic recovery with fiscal support, including for female dominated industries. Labor has welcomed the economic recovery, but is arguing it would be better still if the government had done a better job of hotel quarantine and the vaccine rollout. The Deloitte report backs this approach, saying that attempting budget repair too early would hurt economic recovery and therefore the health of the budget in the medium term. But in an immediate boost to the budget outlook, the report says the better jobs environment has lifted the budget bottom line by $17bn in 2020-21, followed by a further $3bn in 2021-22. The budget is getting better rapidly because the economy is getting better rapidly,” the report says.

Source: The Guardian May 02, 2021 17:26 UTC