The RBA does not issue any government securities - the Australian Office of Financial Management does.
The RBA issues notes (currency) and Treasury issues coins. The RBA is the agent of the government and facilitates all the transactions in government securities.
There are no suspicions about this, you can check it all on the respective websites:
As at 24 August 2012 Updated weekly Face value amounts rounded to the nearest million
Securities on issue subject to the limit under the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 total $238,739 million.
Interest Rates
Indicative yields for selected Commonwealth Government Securities are published daily on the Reserve Bank of Australia website
http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/tables/
Scroll down to Government Finance to find all these:
Government Finance
* Australian Government Budget - Monthly - E1 [XLS] * Australian Government Budget - Annual - E1 [XLS] * Australian Government Budget Deficit and Changes in Holdings of Debt - E2 [XLS] * Commonwealth Government Securities Classified by Holder - E3 [XLS] * Maturity Structure of Non-official Holdings of Commonwealth Government Securities - E8 [XLS] * Commonwealth Government Securities Classified by Holder as at 30 June - E9 [XLS] * Commonwealth Government Securities on Issue - E10 [XLS] * Turnover of Selected Commonwealth Government Securities - E12 [XLS] * Net Lending of All Public Authorities - E11 [XLS] statistics
All right - there has been a lot of debate about the size of the government's debt. As of now - Australian government securities are highly sought after and AAA rated.
There are a lot of comparisons made to the EZ periphery governments, but you need to watch how bondholders act (not what you read in the media!). About 80% of Aussie gov bonds are held by overseas investors.
Here is the pattern for the troubled PIGIS bond market:
First there was an increase in CDS contracts. Then an increase in bond rates in the secondary market. Finally the realisation that the debt burden of the country was too large.
The Oz government has to deliver a 'symbolic' budget surplus to hold-on to its AAA rating.
