Treasurer Jim Chalmers is counting on the business sector to rescue Australia from its worst economic collapse since the 1990s recession, but hasn’t ruled out further cost-of-living relief measures. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed yesterday living standards are going backwards and household spending has slumped. Annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth unexpectedly fell to 0.8 per cent in September compared with 1 per cent in June, on the back of a limp 0.3 per cent growth in the economy last quarter.
Consumer spending in Australia has slumped in recent months. (Edwina Pickles/SMH)It indicated Australia’s lowest annual economic growth outside of the pandemic since the recession of 1990, and the seventh consecutive quarterly decline in GDP per person.The little expansion in the economy is being propped up by government spending and immigration. The Albanese government’s energy rebates have been credited with not only delivering relief for families, but have helping to keep headline inflation low. Chalmers said without the public sector spending, the economy would have gone backwards. Speaking yesterday, he said the federal government was looking to the private sector for an economic kickstart. Chalmers is preparing both a mid-year financial update to be handed down in the coming weeks, and also a pre-election budget, scheduled for March.Today he refused to rule out a further round of cost-of-living relief measures.’We are always looking for responsible ways to help people where we can.” We have got really substantial budget constraints, and we want to make sure we are part of the solution not part of the problem when it comes to inflation.”But for the longer time, the government is banking on the business sector to pull Australia out of the economic doldrums.”We acknowledge that as growth recovers in our economy the best kind of growth is private sector‑led growth,” Chalmers said yesterday. The shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said yesterday’s data showed the government was failing in managing the economy. He warned the dependence on public spending and migration risked stoking inflation.