CANBERRA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said an "unprecedented" level of spending in the upcoming federal budget will give Australians "hope."

Morrison said on Sunday night that the budget for the financial year 2020-21, which will be handed down by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Oct. 6, would be one of the most important budgets since World War II. The budget is expected to reveal the biggest debt and deficit in history, according to local media.

"These are quite unprecedented times and of course this budget has been cast to reflect that," he told Seven Network television.

"What you'll see in the budget is a vote of confidence in the Australian economy. What you'll see in the budget is a vote of confidence in Australians and that they, working together, will lift our economy out of the heavy blow that it's suffered and that will give people hope," Morrison said.

"The country, the world, has not seen what we are seeing right now. The world economy is expected to shrink by about 4.5 percent this year. To put that into perspective, during the Global Financial Crisis it shrunk by 0.1 percent."

Despite the significant deficit, Morrison said the budget would prioritize creating jobs. "It's jobs first, jobs second, jobs third."

More than 1.3 million jobs have been lost in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic but as of recent months more than 700,000 had been recouped.

The prime minister also said that a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand was likely to open before Christmas as Australia's second wave of coronavirus restrictions subsides.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that the proposal was "possible," according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Enditem

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