Treasurer Scott Morrison is confident Australia's economic expansion over the past quarter of a century can continue, but warns against assuming it will just happen.
"Just as before, we will have to fight for it," told a conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday.
"We will have to continue to earn it and pursue it with determination and resolve."
Mr Morrison concedes the data in the run-up to the March quarter economic growth figures, due for release next week, have been mixed.
There was a sustained rally in jobs growth, but retail spending, which accounts for around one-third of household consumption, rose only modestly.
Residential construction work fell, while new business investment numbers released on Thursday showed only a small 0.3 per cent rise in the quarter.
Mr Morrison pointed to comments by Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe that indicated the impact of the end the mining investment boom was reaching its final stages.
However, Westpac senior economist Andrew Hanlan has downgraded his GDP growth forecast to 0.4 per cent from a previous prediction of 0.6 per cent as a result of the capital expenditure, or investment figures, which will leave the annual rate at a subdued 1.7 per cent.
Annual growth was running at 2.4 per cent as of December.
More up-to-date data showed retail spending rebounded in April, rising one per cent after two negative months, and benefiting from a 2.4 per cent surge in Queensland as it recovered from the initial impact of Cyclone Debbie.
However, home prices on average suffered their biggest fall in 18 months during May.
Mr Morrison believes the easing reflects some of the prudent measures taken by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority - such as clamping down on interest-only loans - to cool the market.
"Given around 80 per cent of Australia's $2.1 trillion household debt is tied up in mortgages, it is important to tread carefully when tinkering with the housing market," he told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia in Canberra today.
Mr Morrison's speech came as a new survey showed Australia hdropping out of the world's top 20 most competitive nations, falling to a ranking of 21 for the first time since 1996.
To counter this, the government was aiming to cut taxes for businesses across the board, invest in infrastructure and innovation, and opening up trade around the world.
Labor, on the other hand, just says "no" and wanted higher business and income taxes.
"What that is, is an economic Mogadon. It will put the economy to sleep," the treasurer said.
