Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

The national accounts released today show what Australians already knew: our economy has been hit hard, very hard, by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian economy contracted by seven per cent in the June quarter, which is indeed the largest quarterly fall in real GDP on record, since records were kept. This was driven by large drops in household consumption, dwelling investment and business investment. The largest contributors to the decline in consumption were hotels, cafes and restaurants, which were down 56.1 per cent, and transport services, which were down a staggering 85.9 per cent.

But the numbers today show that Australia is performing comparatively well when compared to other countries around the world facing precisely the same challenge. The IMF is expecting that 157 economies will contract this year, with unprecedented falls in many. COVID-19 has been a wrecking ball through the global economy. The impact in the June quarter has been staggering, with GDP falling by 20.4 per cent in the UK, 13.8 per cent in France, 11.5 per cent in Canada and 9.1 per cent in the United States.