Labor, the Greens and Clive Palmer are threatening our future:
Australia’s AAA credit rating at risk: S&P
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is warning Australia’s prized AAA credit rating could be reviewed unless substantial cuts are made to the budget in coming years.
In an unusually forthright warning, a lead sovereign analyst for S&P, Craig Michaels, said he was counting on the Abbott government to win Senate approval for at least “some” of its $37 billion in planned savings against opposition from Labor, which has pledged to veto about $18 billion in cuts and tax rises…
If it looked as though “sizeable budget deficits were considered acceptable at the political and the community level then we might reassess, certainly, government commitment and also potentially the trajectory for public sector debt,” he said…
S&P’s comments may serve as a wake-up call for opponents of the budget, including Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer, who argues there is no need for big cuts to the $48 billion deficit because of the AAA rating…
“We’re looking for action,” Mr Michaels said…
“Australia is fairly unique among AAA-rated sovereigns in that its external position is very weak,” he said.
“What that means is that to retain the AAA rating, everything else needs to remain very strong, including public finances...”
Budget block ‘unhelpful’
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Australia chief economist Saul Eslake said it would be “unhelpful” if the government’s budget measures were blocked.
A lack of “political will” and failure to rein in spending were key reasons cited by S&P in September when it cut West Australia’s rating.
http://www.afr.com/p/national/australia_aaa_credit_rating_at_risk_5qqhkQyjknWnUmQ6RXwPLK
