We think of that as the bad old days, but if you were an international funds manager, you may look back on it as the good old days. Another factor that has contributed to the improved acceptance of Australian government paper is the recognition that our fiscal policy is very responsible by international standards. The Budget has been in surplus for some time now.
This, together with the proceeds of the privatisations I referred to earlier, has meant that the outstanding stock of government debt has fallen in absolute terms, and as a percentage of GDP is now the lowest among developed countries (Table 5).