In the early 1990s, Australia endured a recession it "had to have", according to then-treasurer Paul Keating.
On Thursday, New Zealand exited a recession it didn't actually have, according to Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
For the past three months, Kiwis had been under the impression their economy had fulfilled the technical definition of a recession: contracting in two straight quarters.
In the December quarter, the gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.5 per cent, followed by a tiny 0.06 per cent drop in the three months to March 2023.
That changed on Thursday, when Stats NZ published a bumper growth figure of 0.9 per cent for the June quarter, while revising the previous quarter to a "flat" result.
The revision to a steady March quarter means the recession didn't happen, allowing Mr Robertson to claim "a victory for the New Zealand economy".
"It's good to see that in fact New Zealand did not go into technical recession earlier this year ... but particularly pleasing news about the June quarter numbers," he said.
"This does show that we've got a resilient New Zealand economy.
"These have been incredibly tough times for businesses and households but we have turned the corner in my opinion."
The 0.9 per cent result was well ahead of market expectation of 0.5 per cent growth, and Treasury's predicted 0.6.
Whether NZ was in or out of recession is largely a debating point: there is no denying the hard economic times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ravages of high inflation.
However, it does have significance during the election campaign, which is reaching a crescendo ahead of the October 14 election.
Opposition National has argued for the last three months that NZ has been Asia-Pacific country in recession, which it believes strengthens its case for office.
National's finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis said the revision didn't change the state of the economy which has "never felt bleaker".
"The Reserve Bank forecasts recession. For most New Zealanders, they feel like they are in a recession," she said.
"The reality for far too many New Zealanders is that their wages have not kept up with inflation.
"They are struggling to pay their bills. They are struggling to pay their mortgage. It feels like a recession."
Ms Willis deferred questions on whether the party would take down signs and stop advertisements that said the country was in recession.
A deeper dive into Stats NZ's release on Thursday showed that its "flat" figure was actually in fact a $NZ5 million ($A4.6 million) contraction, but Ms Willis did not argue that fulfilled the technical definition of a recession.
The first quarter of the year saw two major weather events which impacted the economy greatly.
In January, Auckland suffered through major flooding and in February, Cyclone Gabrielle's arrival devastated large areas of productive land.
The Q2 2023 figures make up for that loss and include the economic impact of the clean-up.
Services led the way, with business services, public administration and housing costs the biggest drivers of economic growth in Q2 according to Stats NZ.
Annual growth was 3.2 per cent, putting the size of the Kiwi economy at $NZ395 million ($A364 million).
