Six months from now when we’re out of lockdown,many Australians won’t have recovered financially. We need to give them a hand – as other major economies are doing – to ensure our national recovery.
Today on Please Explain,senior economics writer Shane Wright joins Nathanael Cooper to explore what helped boost the economy last quarter.
In the war against the pandemic,state governments turned to building hospitals,railway tracks and roads to keep the economy in fighting shape.
The economy expanded more than expected in the June quarter,bolstering confidence the government could go to an election next year with a strengthening economy.
Australia is poised to slip out of its strongest ever economic performance into one of its worst as state lockdowns dent consumer spending and play havoc with the nation’s jobs market.
Look around. Jobs have vapourised. Businesses are shutting. Make no mistake:Australia is in recession
The largest profits ever made by the nation’s mining sector have allayed some fears of a negative June quarter for the economy.
Less than three months ago,the government’s boast was of a country out-performing all its peers. Now the cost of lockdowns and border closures threaten the story.
The budget deficit could be up to $35 billion worse than expected as lockdowns hit the economy,with people in south-west Sydney paying the highest price.
The extended NSW lockdown is hitting the financial security of women and low-income earners,while economists now fear the recovery won’t start until next year.
Josh Frydenberg is expecting the economy to suffer at least a 2 per cent contraction due to lockdowns but remains confident of a sharp rebound.