The Australian dollar's trajectory toward parity with the US dollar is a reflection of bad economic management by the government, the coalition says.

The Australian dollar is hovering above 98c and is tipped to gain parity with the US dollar. This morning it briefly topped the 99-US-cent mark again - just - and by the early afternoon east-coast time was buying abut 98.65 US cents.

The situation is good for those travelling to the US but big concerns remained, opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb says.

Interest rates were higher than they should be because our major competitors were artificially holding their currencies down, Mr Robb said today.