Julia Gillard, Primo ministro australiano

(AP Photo/Mark Graham)

Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks at the national press club in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, July 15, 2010. Australia’s government bolstered its economic credentials ahead of looming elections by releasing new treasury data Wednesday that showed its reversal on a promised mining tax had not diminished its budget forecasts. The latest figures are even better than the treasury’s last budget outlook, released in May, which showed Australia’s finances would be back in surplus in the 2012-13 fiscal year despite billions of dollars in government stimulus spending to avoid recession. The improvement, largely due to soaring prices for Australian energy and mineral exports, is expected to come despite Prime Minister Julia Gillard abandoning plans to introduce a 40 percent tax on mining companies’ burgeoning profits.