Public projects such as Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel continue to help the economy grow.Credit:Joe Armao
“With a new wave of uncertainty from President-elect Trump,rising regulation,fewer migrants and a government unwilling to kickstart much-needed reforms on tax,an investment freeze is within sight,” she warned.
JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said the figures,alongside the slowdown in inflation and ebbing wage growth,should mean the Reserve Bank started to consider interest rate cuts early next year.
The head of Deloitte Access Economics,Pradeep Philip,said the private sector was being “clobbered” with the economy “stuck in the mud and spinning its wheels”.
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“With little headroom for further fiscal stimulus and with the private economy clobbered,the case for a rate cut is strong. But with the Reserve Bank of Australia maintaining a hawkish outlook on inflation,a rate cut may well come later rather than sooner,” he said.
Universities Australia said the government’s reduction of international student visas was also having an impact on the economy with education exports falling by 9 per cent over the past year.
“Our economy is stuck in low gear and the handbrake on international education is a big reason for that,” Universities Australia chief executive officer Luke Sheehy said.