Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian economy is forecast to outperform all major advanced economies in 2020. Real GDP in 2020 is expected to fall by 2½ per cent, before growing by 4½ per cent in 2021. This compares to, in 2020, a fall of 7½ per cent across the Euro area, 5¼ per cent in Japan and 3¼ per cent in the United States. In the June quarter last year our GDP fell by seven per cent. This compares to falls of around 12 per cent in New Zealand, 14 per cent in France and 20 per cent in the United Kingdom. These stark figures are a reminder of the enormous challenges many other countries are facing as they deal with the health and economic crises that have been caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. But in Australia our AAA credit rating has been reaffirmed, we are seeing people getting back to work and we are seeing a recovery that bodes well for Australia's continued strength into the future.