SYDNEY (AFP) Boom in Asia and bust in the United States are buffeting Australia’s economy, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned Monday as he outlined plans to rein in inflation.
In his first major speech on the economy since his Labor party swept John Howard’s conservatives out of office in November, Rudd pledged to slash government spending to produce a huge budget surplus.
The target would be a surplus of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product in the financial year to June 2009, he said — about 18 billion dollars (15.8 billion US dollars).
At the same time, the government has vowed to honour election pledges for 31 billion dollars in tax cuts.
Rudd told business leaders at a breakfast meeting in Perth that Australia faced “conflicting economic currents.”
These were: “A global economy (led by the United States) which appears to be slowing. An ongoing terms of trade boom driven by Asia Pacific economies. And significant domestic inflationary pressures at home.”
Accusing the outgoing government of having allowed these pressures to build, Rudd said his five-point plan included incentives to...
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