New Australian Treasury Secretary John Fraser has slammed the impact of tax cuts and middle class welfare on government revenue and said Australia did not have a debt crisis but did need to cut spending and reduce government debt to prevent future problems.

“Government debt is not at crisis levels and public debt interest remains low as a share of both nominal GDP (gross domestic product) and government expenditure,” he said. “But no action to stem the growth of government debt and or any substantial rise in interest rates threaten to make net debt a bigger issue in future.”

Mr Fraser was scathing of the rise in government spending since the mining boom and the global financial crisis (GFC), which has increased government debt. He said a very substantial amount was spent on so called middle class welfare without sufficient regard to the future prospects for servicing those ongoing transfers.

I wonder if Tony Abbott was listening to these comments, and if so, whether he mentioned them to John Key during his recent visit. It seems that when it comes to the criticisms John Fraser raises, Abbott and Key have a lot in common.