GOUGH WHITLAM AWARDS ALBANESE "FINANCIAL TERRORIST OF THE YEAR " ON HIS JUBILEE
GOUGH WHITLAM AWARDS ALBANESE "FINANCIAL TERRORIST OF THE YEAR " ON HIS JUBILEE
Same measures: Australian Government (Commonwealth) only, not the states.
| Measure | Whitlam (end of 1975–76) | Albanese (end of 2025–26) |
|---|---|---|
| **Gross debt** | **$17.9 billion** | **$971.4 billion** |
| **Gross debt / GDP** | **21.6%** | **33.2%** |
| **Net debt** | **−$0.34 billion** (in the black) | **$550.0 billion** |
| **Net debt / GDP** | **−0.4%** | **18.8%** |
| **Budget balance that year** | Deficit of about **4–5% of GDP** | Deficit of **$22.3 billion (0.8% of GDP)** |
| **Spending / GDP** | About **24–25%** by the last year | About **27%** |
| **PM term** | Dec 1972 – Nov 1975 (almost 3 years) | May 2022 – now (about 4½ years) |
**How to read it**
- **Dollar totals** are not a fair fight. The economy and prices are far larger now. $18 billion in 1975 is roughly **$160 billion** in today’s consumer dollars — still much smaller than $971 billion.
- **% of GDP** is the proper comparison. Whitlam left **no net debt**. Albanese’s government has **net debt of about 19% of GDP** and **gross debt of about 33%**.
- Whitlam’s last deficits were **bigger as a share of the economy**. Albanese’s latest deficit is **smaller as a share of GDP**, but the **stock of debt** is large because it was already built up (GFC, COVID) before 2022 and has kept growing in dollars.
**One-line summary**
Whitlam: small gross debt, **negative net debt**.
Albanese: almost **$1 trillion** gross, **$550 billion** net.
