The Australian government will not be making a sharp pivot towards austerity despite the strengthening economy because the nation is “not out of the pandemic yet,” says the Treasurer. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg used the pre-budget speech on Thursday to reveal the shift in budget policy to focus on job creation and reducing the unemployment rate to below five percent. Massive fiscal spending programs to protect the economy during COVID-19 brought the level of federal government debt to a point where it may take a decade before it starts to decline. However, Frydenberg said they would not begin tough austerity measures to repair the budget because COVID-19 still posed a threat to the global and Australian economy. “You have seen events in India, the lockdown in Western Australia,” Frydenberg told ABC radio. “So we’ve got to be very cautious, and we’ve got to be very considered and try to drive that …