With the exception of the COVID pandemic the economy is growing at its slowest pace in decades. GDP data for the September quarter shows Australia would be in a recession if not for government spending and migration growth.
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00:00The economy is flatlining. At a household level, Australians have been going backwards
00:08for almost two years. Which won't shock many struggling to keep up.
00:13Groceries. That's very expensive with three boys. Four boys, yeah.
00:18Nicola needed a couple of pair of pants. We're shopping for needs, not for wants at the moment.
00:24Australia's economy grew below expectations at 0.3 per cent in the three months to September,
00:30and 0.8 per cent for the year. That's the weakest annual growth since the 1990s recession,
00:38outside of the pandemic. It was held up by government spending on energy rebates and
00:44investment in infrastructure and defence equipment.
00:48Household spending was flat as Australians banked the Stage 3 tax cuts.
00:53We acknowledge that that growth is weak, and we know why that's the case. It is weighed
00:59down very substantially by the interest rate rises which began before the election, combined
01:04with those cost of living pressures weighing on household budgets, and the global economic
01:09uncertainty as well.
01:12We have now been in a household recession for seven quarters. It was a record after
01:18six quarters, it's still a record.
01:21The growth in household savings is an indicator that Australians are feeling under financial
01:26pressure, and are worried about the future. These numbers will come as a surprise to the
01:31Reserve Bank, which economists say will come under more pressure to cut interest rates.
01:37For many, rate relief can't come soon enough.
01:39My husband has a great job, but it's still stressful. And we're doing it as a family
01:46unit now, we're all understanding the value of money.
01:49A festive season on a budget.