Australian gov’t’s debt will increase significantly

Canberra: Australia’s Treasurer has declared that the nation is “at war” with the COVID-19.

Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday fronted Parliament to deliver a special ministerial statement on the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

He said that the economic fallout of the virus has been “sobering”, revealing that the total face value of Australian Government Securities on issue has risen from AU$560 billion to AU$618bn as of last Friday.

According to figures cited by the Treasurer, the ASX200 (Australian Securities Exchange) lost more than a third of its value over four weeks between March and April, house sales have fallen 40 per cent and international and domestic air travel has declined 97 per cent.