Sydney - Around half of the Australian government's 21-billion-Australian-dollar (14.7-billion-US-dollar) surplus will be spent in trying to ward off a recession, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Tuesday.

To breathe life back into consumer spending habits, around a quarter of the country's adults will receive an early financial Christmas present that Rudd hopes will restore confidence and send them back to the shops.

"The global financial crisis has entered into a new dangerous and damaging phase," Rudd said when announcing the 10.4-billion-Australian-dollar package. "That's why the government has decided to act decisively and early on the question of this economic security strategy for the future."

Pensioners and the unemployed will benefit along with those saving to buy a home.

The government gift to those buying a first house, paid regardless of income, will double to 14,000 Australian dollars. People getting into the market through buying a newly built home will get help worth 21,000 Australian dollars.

There will be more money for training schemes, while road-building and other infrastructure plans will be brought forward.

Rudd said he was confident the cash injection, which is twice as big as many analysts were expecting, would not push government accounts into deficit.

"We're confident that we'll still be able to deliver a comfortable surplus," he said. "The purpose of a surplus in the budget is to deal with tough times - and tough times are with us."

The massive cash stimulus helped Australian shares hold on to early gains that had taken the bellwether ASX 200 index 5 per cent higher.

It also helped strengthen the Australian dollar, which has lost about 20 per cent of its value against the US dollar in the last month. The Australian dollar was trading above 70 cents, more than four cents higher than Monday's closing fix. (dpa)