Anxiety over Australias economy fomented by craven anti-Labor reporters is unfounded, asAlan Austinreveals.

LAST WEDNESDAYS nationalaccountsshowed Australias economy to be the strongest since the Coalition was vanquished in 2022. It is now the only advanced nation with economic growth above 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), the jobless and inflation both below 4.6%, and government debt below 20% of GDP.

The quarterly accounts, released last Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), confirm Australia is nowhere near a recession. Unfortunately for the nations mental health, most newsrooms continue to falsify the narrative.

Outcomes lifting quarterly and annual

Quarterly growth in GDP for the March quarter was 0.27%. Thats lower than the previous three quarters, but higher than March last year and the year before.

Of the 37 wealthyOECDmembers that have reported Marchnumbers, six slipped into the red France, Sweden, Israel, Mexico, Chile and Lithuania, with Portugal and Luxembourg recording zero growth.

Australia now has best-ever economy and worst-ever reporters

Coverage of the recent Federal Budget proves standards of economic reporting are at an all-time low.

Ireland continues its lengthyrecession. Canada recorded zero growth following a negative December quarter. So times are tough.

Australias annual GDP growth was 2.52%, just above the revised figure of 2.51% for December last year. This brought thestreakof positive annual quarters to 21, a record only Belgium, France, Switzerland and Turkey have emulated. (And the USA, if we believe their figures, which no one should.)

Australias 2.52%ranksa creditable ninth in the OECD, well up from 31st in 2022 under the hapless Coalition. The OECD average is a dismal 1.64%, due to destructive tariffs, trade wars and military conflicts brought on by the corrupt and incompetent Trumpregimein the USA.

Australia copped additional local setbacks, as ABS head of national accounts Grace Kimexplained, including cyclone disruptions to mining and export activities.

Significantly, Ms Kim said, mostgrowthderived from private business with machinery investment recording the largest rise in 30 years.

Australias real net national disposable income per person increased to $19,377 in March. While superficially welcome, this remains ambiguous, as this should decline when incomes shift from the top 20% to the bottom 80%, as is clearlyhappening.

Gross disposable income hit a record $456.3 billion, a 5% lift over March last year and up a thumping 20.6% on March 2023.

Total national factor income reached a record $665 billion, up 5.1% on one year ago. The share of that income going to employees is now 54.2%, the highest since 2016. The share going to corporate profits is down to 26.9%, the lowest since 2018. See chart below.

(Data source:ABS)

Corporateprofitabilitycontinues to rise, with profits ex-mining hitting a new record in March of $84.6 billion.

Indicators of all-time high living standards are still surging. These includehealthoutcomes, lifeexpectancy, percentage of studentsenrolledin private schools, overseastripsper population,salesof new cars and light aircraft,spendingon dining out and other luxuries relative to GDP and fewer seniors forced towork.

Worsening media mendacity

As shownherepreviously, the stronger Australias economy, the shoddier the reporting.

In other countries, newsrooms would congratulate corporate bosses for their enterprise, unions for their cooperation, consumers for their confidence, themselves for timely reporting and perhaps offer a nod to the government for its oversight.

But in Australia, with last weeks data confirming arguably the worlds best-performing economy, the shonks and charlatans delivered these banners:

• Going to be a long winter: Top economist delivers recession warning(Sky News);

• Jim Chalmers hails Australia's failing economy as a success story in latest episode of delusional spin (Daily Mail Australia);

• Australias economy slows as cost of living and high oil prices hit growth (The Australian);

• Recession, this way comes (Spectator Australia);

• Why Alan Kohler is worried about a recession (ABC News);

• Top economists warn Australia is at risk of stagflation (Nine News); and

• For the first time in more than three decades, Australia faces the possibility of a recession (Daily Mail Australia).

Nonsensical predictions of a dire recession

Lets review the last of that tawdry collection, above, from a popular Daily Mailpodcast. The presenter,Peter Van Onselen, wants us to be afraid very afraid. We can tell from the underlay of menacing music from Mount Doom.

Van Onselen starts:

So what? Todays numbers are nowhere near those.

Boycott newsroom liars and restore Australias absent self-assurance

Experiences abroad show how to heal Australias debilitating social malaise, reportsAlan Austin.

Van Onselen continued:

Of course,Sarah Hunterissued no such warning. Not anywhere. Not ever. In fact, she said the direct opposite. Independent Australia checked with the RBA.

Its emailed response highlighted Dr Hunter specificallyrejectinga recession:

So, no, the Daily Mails dire warning of a recession with double-digit mortgage and jobless rates was not a rhetorical flourish. It was a crude political attack based on zero evidence disguised as economic analysis.

Sadly, this is what passes for journalism today.

Alan Austinis an Independent Australia columnist and freelance journalist. You can follow him@alanaustin001and [email protected].

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