- Hon Nicola Willis
The Crown accounts for the 2023/24 year underscore the need for the Government's ongoing efforts to restore discipline to public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.
The Financial Statements of the Government for the year ended 30 June 2024 were released today.
They show net core Crown net debt at the end of the financial year was $175 billion, or 42.5 per cent of GDP. That was less than the 43.1 per cent forecast in the Budget, but still represents an increase of $118 billion in only five years.
Core Crown spending in 2023/24 was $139 billion, we are now spending $58 billion more than when the last National-led government left office.
The operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) was a deficit of $12.9 billion - the fifth deficit in a row. The OBEGAL deficit was $1.8 billion more than forecast in the Budget, due to worse-than-expected results from Crown entities and state-owned enterprises.
"Government spending has skyrocketed over the last six years and so has government debt," Nicola Willis says.
"The coalition Government is committed to driving more value from government spending, getting the books back in surplus and starting to bring down net debt as a proportion of gross domestic product.
"The accounts also show the corrosive impact of low growth and low productivity on the government's financial performance.
"The coalition Government is determined to drive economic growth which is why it is focusing on lifting education and skills development, boosting trade and investment, investing in science and innovation, improving regulation and competition, and building an enduring infrastructure pipeline."
Nicola Willis says it is also important to note that, while the Government didn't set the Budget for 2023/24, it made decisions in the mini-Budget and in Budget 2024 that improved OBEGAL by $1.1 billion in the just-completed year.
"Future Budgets will continue to demonstrate our respect for taxpayers and good stewardship of public money."
The next major fiscal announcement is the Half Year Update and Budget Policy Statement which will be released on Tuesday 17 December.
