Sustainable budget indicators
The current budget performance indicators published as part of the Budget and
Mid Year Budget Review are appropriate indicators for assessing budget sustainability. They
are:
Net operating balance;
Net lending or net borrowing;
Net financial liabilities to revenue ratio; and
Net debt.
The Commission will not recommend quantitative targets for each of these four indicators.
This is a Government responsibility.
However, the Commission notes that a golden rule is that Governments should fund ongoing
recurrent expenditure out of annual revenues. It should not in the medium to longer term
borrow to fund operating activities as is required when the budget has a net operating deficit.
This is consistent with the Governments stated objective to
"return the State Budget to a
sustainable net operating surplus"