NT’s economy worst in the nation again, according to CommSec State of the States report
THE Northern Territory has again been ranked the worst performing economy in the nation, according to a new economic report – but the Chief Minister has slammed the document’s findings as ‘deeply flawed’.
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THE Northern Territory has again been ranked the worst performing economy in the nation according to a new economic report.
But Chief Minister Michael Gunner slammed the CommSec State of the States report as “deeply flawed” as it compares the NT economy against its 10-year average, which includes the Inpex construction boom.
The economic arm of the Commonwealth Bank, in its quarterly report, noted that the Territory ranked fifth on “relative economic growth” but lagged all other jurisdictions on six out of eight indicators.
The NT was the only jurisdiction in the country in December to record employment levels below the 10-year average.
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This was despite the Territory recording unemployment rates better than the national average in Australia Bureau of Statistics data released last week.
“This has always been a deeply flawed report that does not accurately show how the Territory is performing compared to the rest of the nation. This belongs in the recycling bin,” Mr Gunner said.
“There will still be tough times ahead, but we are the safest place in Australia and having the strongest comeback in Australia.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Gerard Maley seized on CommSec’s report, accusing the government of “driving the Territory off the economic cliff”.
“According to the report, the Northern Territory was the only jurisdiction to see negative population growth, has the weakest jobs market in the country, and remains the worst performer in terms of housing finance,” he said.
A recent Deloitte Access Economics report found the NT economy “had so far weathered the pandemic markedly better than might have been expected at the start of last year”.
The CommSec State of the States report ranked Tasmania as the top jurisdiction for economic performance as traditional heavyweights pulled back due to lower investment and a reduction in spending.
The report revealed, for the fourth quarter in a row, the island state has powered ahead due to greater population growth, retail consumption and investment in infrastructure and equipment.
“Tasmania has now been on top for four straight surveys – either shared with another economy or in its own right,” CommSec chief economist Craig James said.
“Over the quarter Tasmania lost three places on housing finance but improved one place on construction work done and relative unemployment.”
In terms of relative economic growth, Victoria over the September quarter sustained the highest rise and is 23 per cent above its decade average of output.
The southern state’s rise is despite the extended Melbourne lockdown which was invoked by the state government in an attempt to control and suppress COVID-19 cases which were climbing in the second half of 2020.
NSW reported its worst performance in eight years and ranked equal with Western Australia in sixth place.
Housing finance in NSW was strong, showing the number of new home loans in the state are on the rise, however unemployment levels over the quarter were 21.7 per cent higher than the decade average.
The ACT came in second overall and was largely driven by a strong improvement in the region’s job market.
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Relative population growth was a major factor in Tasmania’s status of number one, with the state experiencing a 1.12 per cent hike in annual population growth. According to CommSec, it is 86.4 per cent higher than the state’s decade average.
“Population growth is clearly an important driver of the broader economy, especially retail spending and housing demand,” Mr James said.
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