It doesnt matter if its the Reserve Bank of Australia or international economic agencies warning about the economic risks of Australias household and public debt Scott Morrison and the Turnbull Government is intent on ignoring them or making matters worse.

Yesterdays warning from the RBA was clear that high levels of household debt could affect economic outcomes and households with higher debt levels are more vulnerable to economic shocks and therefore more likely to reduce consumption in the face of uncertainty about their future income.

In noting the comparative trend of household debt rising in relation to household income over recent decades, the RBA Board noted:

A distinguishing feature of the Australian housing market is that the bulk of dwellings are owned by the household sector. This has contributed to greater borrowing for housing by households in Australia compared with other countries, where the corporate sector owns a larger proportion of rental properties.

The latest warning from the Reserve Bank on household debt came a day after the International Monetary Fund noted that with downside risks mounting, many countries need to rebuild fiscal buffers to create policy space for the next downturn.

All the Turnbull Government and Scott Morrison are interested in doing is baking in long term, massive drags on the Budget with no idea what the global economic environment will be in the next 4-6 years when much of the $140 billion in income tax cuts and $80 billion in company tax cuts come on line.

Labor has made the right and prudent call to oppose most of these long-term tax cuts, much of which commences and peaks well outside the Budget forward estimates.

We know the Australian Budget is enjoying the fruits of the strongest global upswing in almost a decade, but there are plenty of downside risks, especially global debt which is 48 percentage points higher than it was just before the global financial crisis.

Labors plan for bigger surpluses and paying down more debt is all about helping ensure we not only have a fair and sustainable tax system, but that Australia is rebuilding its fiscal buffers as economic circumstances allow.