Business Council of Australia Pressures Government to Quickly Restore Surplus

The Business Council of Australia, an Australian lobby group, is pressuring the federal government in the country to quickly bring the budget back to surplus in order to turn its attention to increasing the productivity capacity of the country.

Similar to other mature economies, Australia is in danger of having lower capacity than in downturns of the past as they start to recover economically.

What is especially being asked for is faster winding down of the stimulus used in attempts to shore up the economy during the financial crisis.

The legitimate concerns are if the government takes too long in the unwinding process, private enterprise will suffer because of the ongoing competition for resources and workers. Possible effects could be increased inflation.

What the president of the business council is calling for is to have more discipline in spending rather than thinking in terms of raising taxes as their strategy.

"It is increasingly clear...that Australia will emerge from the downturn without the spare capacity that usually follows periods of low growth or recession," said business council president Graham Bradley.