Page 5008 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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In relation to the CommSec state of the states report, it is comparing current economic performance with the decade average performance of each jurisdiction. It then ranks states and territories according to their relative performance against that decade average. It is very pleasing that the ACT has again held its position in this comparison, second only to Western Australia, noting of course the unique circumstances that currently apply in the Western Australian economy. It is noteworthy that the ACT has achieved this strong economic result in the absence of a resources sector. The ACT has the highest performance in terms of population growth, construction, housing and finance and dwelling commencements and the second highest performance in relation to economic growth.
There were some areas of concern that were noted within the CommSec report, most particularly in relation to unemployment and retail trade. But let us look a little at the detail of that. In relation to unemployment, it is worth while noting that the ACT’s unemployment rate remained well below the national average, by 1.2 percentage points in September 2011. The ACT has recorded the second lowest unemployment rate and the second highest participation rate of all jurisdictions in September 2011. Full-time employment continues to trend upward, remaining well above the levels of years ago. This is an important point to note. The underlying strength of the territory economy is, indeed, in full-time employment.
Whilst we note that there has been a relatively soft performance in retail trade, it is worth noting that it is coming off a very high base. Whilst there are some challenges to retail spending growth, we do continue to have high levels of disposable income in the territory. What we are observing is a change in consumption patterns, particularly through three factors. Firstly, people are paying down debt after an extended period of indebtedness. Secondly, there is a change in discretionary spending towards other areas, particularly around leisure and recreation. We are certainly seeing, in terms of outbound tourism figures, a number of people taking advantage of the very high Australian dollar to pursue overseas travel.
A third factor that is apparent in relation to the retail sector is a steady move towards online shopping. I think a question for those who are collecting statistics in this area would be how we appropriately measure that level of online retail and where exactly those purchases are recorded. I think it is going to be an increasing issue as more and more commerce moves online that our statistical systems are able to accurately reflect that.
But overall, I think it is a very good picture for the territory economy. There are, as there always are, medium-term risks.
MR SPEAKER: Dr Bourke, before we proceed with your supplementary, I would like to clarify the result of the earlier question. I did consider the preamble to your question to be out of order. Nonetheless, the actual question was in order. If those sorts of questions come forth again, including in your supplementary, I will sit you down.
Mr Seselja: Mr Speaker, can I get your clarification? Is your ruling that Dr Bourke is able to—
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