Last week, the Bureau of Statistics released its March quarter economic growth data.
It showed that the economy grew by 0.8% in the first three months of this year and by 3.3% annually, which exceeded analysts’ forecasts.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said there were “nice elements” in the figures, because strong demand was being supported by a tight labor market.
However, he warned that the headline figures mask a worrying reality.
“National accounts are notoriously backward,” the treasurer said.
“If you think about what has happened in our economy since the end of March, inflation is higher, we have raised interest rates, petrol prices have risen by 12 percent since the end of April. wholesale electricity prices have risen 237 percent, and since the end of March, gas has been more than 300 percent higher than the average for the past two years.
“We have a shortage of manpower. We still have COVID absenteeism. And the international environment has also become more difficult.
“It doesn’t make sense to talk about the kind of conditions we’ve inherited,” he warned.
These economic conditions are severe and are compounded by uncertainty.
Check out the minutes of the May meeting of the Reserve Bank’s board meeting, where its members agreed to raise the cash rate target in the middle of the federal election campaign.
The record includes the word “risk” six times, variations of the word “uncertainty” nine times, and “inflation” 39 times.