Instead, since the crisis the net capital inflows to Australia – which are the mirror of our current account deficit – have been dominated by the government and the mining sector. [3]  Graph 9  Australian federal government issuance rose after the financial crisis as the federal budget went into deficit (Graph 1).
This was, in part, an automatic consequence of the slowing economy we had at the time. However, there were some added stimulatory fiscal measures introduced to support economic activity, which is well known. Perhaps less appreciated is the fiscal position of the state governments. They too experienced larger deficits, but that upward trajectory in their bonds outstanding had generally stopped a few years ago.