The economy expanded 4.24 per cent through 2021. That included a 3.4 per cent surge through the December quarter as large parts of the country re-opened after pandemic-related lockdowns.
The final parts of the March quarter GDP result,covering the balance of payments,government spending and business inventories,will be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday but earlier partial indicators point to a general slowdown.
KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said widespread flooding across NSW and Queensland through February would have a “significant” adverse impact on economic activity.
Rynne,who is expecting the economy to have expanded by 0.5 per cent in the quarter,said Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were facing tougher economic conditions ahead.
“In some respects,the national accounts reflect ‘old news’ as the Australian economy will have completed about two-thirds of the current June quarter,and economic conditions today are different to those at the start of the year. But the new government has clearly inherited a difficult situation,” he said.
“The challenges associated with a tightening economic environment are now starting to feed their way into business sentiment,which in itself can feed a vicious cycle.”