The latest GDP figures showing Australia’s economy grew 2.6% last year is good news, but the data also reveals an economy boosted by people chasing bargains and the one-off effect of the Ashes tour.

It has been nearly three years since the economy has grown as fast as it currently is. The Bureau of Statistics estimates that the economy in the December quarter of last year was 2.6% bigger than the December quarter in 2024.

December quarter growth was 0.8%, which if replicated another three times (a big if!) would give us 3.2% annual growth, and would be the sign of a very strong economy.

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So that is nice, but let’s not start singing good times are here again. Of the last eight quarters (two years), only two have grown faster than 0.5%.

And if we take 2025 as a whole and compare it with all of 2024 (rather than just December 2025 with December 2024), Australia’s economy was only 2% bigger and the annual result is pretty meh, when you look back over the past three decades:

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But let’s not be too negative. Let’s find out what caused........

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