Thats just because they dont want to share the information transparently. New Zealand started issuing a real balance sheet quite some time back, and it is very interesting. It is hard to do as you need to estimate long term liabilities etc.

Here is a summary position and you can find the rest on the site http://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/longterm/fiscalpositi...

All governments should do this....

This is excellent. What prompted them to do this?

I forget the original reasons, it was some time back. There is a statement here: http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2010/is/04.htm

I seem to remember it was partly prompted by a new government wanting to prove they were fiscally responsible, but also I think there has always been quite an awareness as there is a huge earthquake reconstruction fund (now entirely in external assets) in case of disaster, which would prompt some thinking about assets and liabilities.

This is excellent indeed.

Actually, it might come as a surprise but Greece seems to have a lot of public assets which would give it a much better clear position than many other countries in Europe if they were to be compared.

However of course, it is no secret nowadays that even with a great clear position, if cash flow is not positive you may easily go under.