Treasurer Scott Morrison is using shockingly weak economic growth figures to pressure Labor into supporting its proposed company tax cuts.
The treasurer is warning people not to jump to "alarmist" conclusions that the economy is headed for recession after Wednesday's national accounts showed the economy shrank by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter.
"That's not the sort of alarmist thing people should be leaping to," he told ABC radio on Thursday.
Mr Morrison says his own discussions with businesses indicated the September quarter had been a tough one.
But he insists there are good signs things have since picked up.
The economy experienced its first contraction since March 2011 and the biggest decline since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
The treasurer hoped it wouldn't take a recession to encourage federal parliament to support the government's economy-boosting policies, such as company tax cuts.
"I don't wish for a burning platform," he said.
"I would certainly hope that it wouldn't be necessary for that sort of terrible result to spur the parliament and others into accepting the important changes that we need.
"Chris Bowen and Bill Shorten are on the record for supporting these changes - the only reason why they don't support them now is pure, cynical, wreck-the-joint politics."
