Despite the low figures, the federal government is insisting the economy is strong.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the June quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. G-D-P [[Gross Domestic Product]] was up by just 1.4 per cent over the 12 months to June - down from 1.8 per cent in March.
That makes it the slowest annual growth recorded since 2009, when the world economy was in the grips of the global financial crisis. But Treasurer Josh Frydenberg instead points to another aspect of the figures."The Australian economy has completed its 28th consecutive year of economic growth, a record that has not been matched by any other developed economy”, he said. Furthermore, he argued that “it's a reminder of the remarkable resilience of the Australian economy and a repudiation of all those who have sought to talk it down."
Labor's treasury spokesman, Jim Chalmers, however, claims that the economy is "floundering" under the Coalition government.
"If the Treasurer thinks that these weak economic growth numbers are good, then he's even more out of touch than we feared”, said Mr Chalmers. He argued for the Government to bring forward a budget update to “fix up their forecasts” in order to “fund a proper economic plan to get the economy moving again".
