The Australian dollar has risen from 0.50 U.S. dollars in 2002 up to over 1.0 U.S. dollars in recent months. The currency fell to as low as 60 cents during the financial crisis and hit 80 cents in mid 2010. It has the ability to plunge quickly then recover rapidly making it an excellent "shopping list" currency.
The Australian 10 year government bond hovered between 5% and 6% for 13 years before falling to the 3% level seen today.
The Australian government debt to GDP rose from 9.7% in 2008 to 22.9% in 2012.
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