Scott Morrison (left) and Tony Abbott were among Coalition leaders who drove up the national debt (Background via iStock, images via Wikimedia Commons)As gross government debt nears $1 trillion, the numbers reveal a confronting truth — most of it was racked up by Coalition governments. It needs to be remembered that the vast bulk of the increase occurred under the watch of Coalition governments. Net debt is calculated by subtracting the sum of the Government’s financial assets (cash and deposits, advances paid and investment, loans and placements) from gross debt. Debt rose to $257 billion or $202 billion during that time in office, with the Global Financial Crisis a catalyst for higher debt. In that budget, Frydenberg showed that under the Coalition’s policy settings, gross debt was on track to rise to $1.056 trillion by June 2024 and $1.169 trillion by June 2026.