Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on Australia's national accounts for the December quarter? What do today's national accounts mean for the Australian economy and the hardworking Australian businesses and families in La Trobe and elsewhere?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for his question. He understands that the jobs and the wages and the hours and the services that hardworking Australians rely on depend on a growing economy. The good news is that today's national accounts for the December quarter showed that our economy grew by 1.1 per cent, bouncing back in the December quarter, with real growth of 2.4 per cent through the year and nominal growth of more than six per cent, which is the best result in more than six years. Once again, Australia is growing faster than all the major developed economies in the world. Of all the G7 economies, where are on top of that pack. There was growth in every single state and territory, which is the first time we have seen that for a while, including in the great state of Western Australia under the leadership of the Barnett government.

In addition to that, we have seen householders show great confidence in our economy, because household consumption also bounced back, up 0.9 per cent in the quarter. Dwelling investment rebounded in the quarter by 1.2 per cent and, after 12 consecutive quarters of negative results in new business investment, it increased by almost two per cent. That is a welcome result, but we cannot expect those results to continue if those opposite are going to continue to frustrate our plans to support investment by businesses in their growth, which delivers the wages and which delivers the hours that Australians desperately need—which the national accounts today also revealed. Real net national disposable income per capita, as the shadow Treasurer often reminds this House, means living standards. Living standards increased by 5.3 per cent in 2016, the strongest annual growth in that measure in five years.

All of this growth has been supported by the hard work of Australians, but it has also been supported by the proactive policies to drive growth in investment, to provide confidence in the economy and to ensure that people are out there spending and investing in their own futures. That has included our important expenditures in infrastructure, in communications, in technology and in defence industry. All of these things are supporting the growth agenda of the Turnbull government, because the Turnbull government understands that, unless you drive growth and unless you drive investment, then you cannot expect those outcomes for the wages and the hours upon which wages depend. That is what this government is focused on. These results today are an endorsement of a pro-growth Turnbull government national economic plan. These results speak to the success of that plan and why it should be supported rather than opposed by those opposite.