Australia is well placed to weather the storm of the current global financial crisis, former prime minister John Howard says.
Speaking about global leadership at the Gold Coast's Bond University, Mr Howard today said Australians should not panic in the wake of the financial meltdown that has sent shockwaves through the world's markets.
"Australia is better placed to deal with it than just about any country in the western world and that is because we have a very strong balance sheet," Mr Howard said during a speech to students.
"We have no net debt, we don't have a budget deficit, we have very well regulated banks ... we also have levels of inflation and low unemployment that compare very favourably to the rest of the world.
"Those are the things that are going to stick to the Australian economy as it gets buffeted and it will be affected.
"But the impact would have been much, much greater if the budget was now in deficit and if we had a huge national debt."
Mr Howard said his government left the economy in great shape and, properly managed, Australia would withstand the impact of the downturn.
