Australia's Treasurer Chalmers:
- Today's national accounts show positive but week GDP growth
- People are under pressure but it's encouraging to see growth in real disposable incomes.
Australia's economy grew by 0.3% in the third quarter, falling short of the expected 0.4% as weakness in consumer and business spending offset increased government expenditure on defense and infrastructure. Annual growth slowed to 0.8%, down from 1.0% in the previous quarter, marking recession-level figures. Household spending, which makes up half of GDP, contributed nothing to growth, leaving government spending to provide the sole boost with a 0.6 percentage point contribution.
