Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Dec-16

The expected Budget surplus of $A1.087bn in 2020-21 equates to about 0.05 per cent of GDP. Ratings agencies have warned that the Federal Government must achieve a surplus by 2020-21 in order to retain its triple-A credit rating, but Treasurer Scott Morrison claims that he has never committed to that target date. He says the Government will seek to balance the Budget as quickly and responsibly as possible, and stressed that this will require the support of Parliament.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Dec-16

Ratings agency Moody’s has forecast that the combined debt of Australia’s federal and state governments will rise to about $A690bn by mid-2017, compared with $A642bn in June 2016. Treasurer Scott Morrison will release the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook on 19 December, and Marie Diron of Moody’s says the Government is likely to reduce the deficit but at a slower pace than forecast in the May 2016 Budget. Moody’s is not expecting to downgrade Australia’s triple-A credit rating, although rival S&P Global Ratings put it on "negative watch" earlier in 2016.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING