Virus could add $620b to Australian debt
Australian government debt could blow out by $620 billion by the end of the decade thanks to the coronavirus.
The Parliamentary Budget Office has crunched the medium-term impacts of the pandemic based on the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest forecasts.
Its analysis released on Friday showed government debt in 2029/30 could be between 11 and 18 per cent of GDP ($500 billion to $620 billion) higher than it would have been otherwise.
The country's deficit, or underlying cash balance, could deteriorate by between $16 billion and $30 billion in the same period.
The PBO does not expect any budget surpluses this decade.
