Accounting for Government Activities in Australia: The State of the Budgets

More considered answers are needed in Australia to key questions about accounting for and managing the role of government. The need for such answers is highlighted by the move to negative net debt and by the underlying fragility of the economy, as well as by the financial cost of election commitments. After a discussion of relevant theoretical and empirical issues, a fiscal strategy for Australia is proposed, as a way of rebuilding the nation's diminished physical, knowledge and social capital in a framework consistent with the most rigorous demands of financial management.