Aussie treasurer wants surpluses saved

SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The Australian national treasurer has called for an end to the government returning revenue surpluses to taxpayers, it was reported Thursday.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said the government's policy of returning windfalls puts too much pressure on the Reserve Bank to curb inflation with interest rate rises.

Swan wants the federal government to save revenue surpluses so the government has a cushion in lean times, The Australian reported Thursday.

"Monetary policy is a blunt instrument and that is why it is really important that fiscal policy plays a bigger role," Swan said.

The Australian Reserve Bank has raised interest rates six times since early 2006. Most recently, the central bank raised interest rates to a 12-year high of 7 percent, the newspaper reported.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said allowing the government to squirrel away budget windfalls is not prudent.

"If the government has raised enough money for its own purposes and put aside a substantial surplus, taxpayers struggling to reduce their own indebtedness are entitled to know why it is better for the government to invest their money -- presumably in securities markets with all of the attendant risks -- rather than taxpayers keeping more of their hard-earned money and retiring their own debt," he said.