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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Expenditure on new housing, alterations and additions fell in the September quarter of 2010, contributing to an overall decline in GDP growth.
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According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, new housing expenditure fell by 1.3 per cent in the September quarter, and expenditure on alterations and additions fell by 2.5 per cent, with total dwelling expenditure making a negative contribution to growth of 0.1 percentage points.
“In terms of the broader economy, although it is hoped the weak September quarter GDP growth is just a pothole, it is worrying that we are still seeing plant and equipment investment detracting from growth,” HIA senior economist Andrew Harvey said.
"While there has been a lot of talk that we may be on the verge of a substantial upswing in business investment, there is no certainty as to when this will unfold, and until it does it is hard to be convinced about the prospect of a changeover from public sector stimulus to private sector activity as the growth engine of the Australian economy.”
GDP grew by just 0.2 per cent in the September quarter (following a downwardly revised 1.1 per cent for the June quarter) to be 2.7 per cent up on 12 months ago. That the September GDP growth figure was positive at all owes much to a positive contribution from non-dwelling investment and household consumption.
