MELBOURNE, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Australian Finance Minister Mathias Cormann on Sunday said a mid-year budget update will show government spending decreasing, as the country seeks to reduce the national debt.
The Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Outlook, which will be released in December, would show the government had reined in spending, which currently stands at 25.7 percent of gross domestic product, Cormann told local media.
"We have been able to stabilise it and are now projected to bring it down," Cormann told Sky News.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is trying to cut the budget deficit, projected to reach A$37.1 billion ($28.13 billion) or 2.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2016/17. is one of only about a dozen countries with a triple-A credit rating from all three ratings agencies - Standard & Poor's, Fitch and Moody's - but they have warned it may be under threat if the budget deficit is not addressed. = 1.3187 Australian dollars)