Australia’s economy fares better than expected but still weakest since early 1990s, excluding pandemic

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has blamed interest rate rises for ‘smashing’ the economy. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Australia’s economy fared better than expected in the June quarter as government spending fuelled growth. On a per capita basis, though, activity shrank for a record sixth quarter in a row.

Gross domestic product grew 1% compared with the June quarter of 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That rate compared with 0.9% predicted by economists and 1.1% previously reported by the ABS for the March quarter.