The brutal reality of life under Anthony Albanese as the economy grows at its weakest pace in more than thirty years
- Economic activity weak in September quarter
Australia’s economy is barely growing, despite record high levels of immigration and generous electricity rebates from the federal government.
The country’s gross domestic product grew by just 0.8 percent in the year to September.
This was the weakest level of economic activity in Australia since the 1991 recession, barring a pandemic.
Australia also remains in per capita recession, with output declining for every Australian, while workplace productivity is also declining.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers blamed the cost of living crisis for weak economic activity in Australia, with economists not expecting a rate cut anytime soon.
“Today’s National Accounts confirm that growth in the Australian economy remains positive but weak,” he said.
“Our economy is growing, but very slowly, under pressure from interest rates, cost of living pressures and global uncertainty.”
The annual growth rate of 0.8 percent was well below Commonwealth Bank expectations of a 1.1 percent increase and was also well below the three-decade average of 3 percent.
Australia’s economy is still barely growing despite record high immigration levels (pictured is Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall)
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows GDP per capita shrank 1.5 percent over the year, extending the per capita recession that started in early 2023.
Australia is not yet in a technical recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of GDP decline.
But the economy grew by just 0.3 percent in the September quarter – or over three months.
Historically weak economic activity has also coincided with record high levels of immigration.
A net of 509,800 migrants moved to Australia in the year to March.
Australia’s population grew by 2.3 percent – a level that almost triples Australia’s very weak annual economic growth rate of 0.8 percent.
Immigration has barely slowed, with 449,060 migrants moving to Australia in the year to September – despite the Treasury’s May budget predicting a slowdown to just 260,000 in 2024-25.
Australia’s underlying inflation was still high in September at 3.5 percent – or at a level well above the Reserve Bank’s 2 to 3 percent target when the effects of $300 electricity rebates are excluded left.
The country’s gross domestic product grew by just 0.8 percent in the year to September (pictured is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese)
Services inflation is even higher at 4.6 percent.
Despite high inflation, Dr Chalmers argued Australia’s economic growth would have been even weaker without Labour’s electricity and childcare cuts.
“Australians would be much worse off and growth would be even weaker without our responsible approach to budgeting and our support for the cost of living,” he said.
Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has ruled out a rate cut in 2024 as the RBA board meets next week.
The futures market expects there won’t be a rate cut until May next year – a view shared by economists from Westpac, ANZ and NAB.
That means there will be no short-term relief from the RBA’s 13 rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, which took the cash rate to 4.35 percent and marked the most aggressive pace of monetary policy tightening since the late 1980s. marked.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s re-election is more challenging amid a cost-of-living crisis accompanied by a population-driven rise in rents and rising mortgage repayments.
