Lowe Slams Labor Over Budget Surplus Failures

Former Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Philip Lowe has criticized the Labor government for failing to deliver a Budget surplus in two consecutive financial years. He argued that this is contributing to higher interest rates and inflation.

Lowe, who was RBA governor during the COVID-19 pandemic, stated that 'now we find ourselves running sizable Budget deficits at a time where we're at full employment and commodity prices are very high.' He added that 'we should be running sizable surpluses.'

The Labor government unveiled a Budget deficit of $22.3 billion in 2025-26, which is 0.8% of GDP. Treasury's final Budget outcome revealed that government spending made up 26.9% of GDP, the highest level in four decades outside of COVID.

Lowe also criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for prioritizing wealth distribution over wealth creation, saying 'public policy is no longer focused on expanding the size of the pie. It's more about the distribution of income and wealth.'