Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Australian economy has turned a corner after the strongest GDP growth figures since the pandemic, but economists say any recovery will be shallow as long as productivity remains stuck at 2016 levels and business investment stays tepid.

The economy expanded by 0.6 of a percentage point in the December quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, thanks to a long-awaited pick-up in household demand and a strong rise in state government spending.