Australia faces another year of weak conditions that will squeeze company profits, push up unemployment and risk sending the budget into deficit, economists warned, after growth slumped to 1.5 per cent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned the fall in gross domestic product meant it was unlikely Treasury would continue to receive multi-billion dollar tax windfalls, as the government weighs a pre-election spending boost that could hit the budget bottom line.
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Michael Read is the Financial Review's economics correspondent, reporting from the federal press gallery at Parliament House. He was previously an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia and at UBS. Connect with Michael on Twitter. Email Michael at michael.read@afr.com