L-R: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, RBA governor Michele Bullock and Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Source: AAP Image/Lukas Coch.
Australia is not expected to fall into a recession, the Treasurer has assured, even as interest rate hikes slow the economy to a crawl.
The weak 0.1% rise in economic growth in the three months to March announced on Wednesday was slightly below forecasts, and marked the fifth consecutive quarterly fall on a per-capita basis.
Asked if the result signalled Australia was heading into a recession, Treasurer Jim Chalmers rebuffed the suggestion and insisted the federal budget had helped fight inflation without smashing the economy.
“That’s not our expectation,” he told the Today show on Thursday.
“The economy barely grew in the first three months of the year, we knew it was going to be weak.
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