The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory have won bragging rights for having the fastest growing economies within Australia.
Their growth was highlighted in annual data on gross state product, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
The ABS defines GSP as the total market value of goods and services produced in a state or territory after the costs of goods and services used in production are deducted.
It is the state and territory equivalent of gross domestic product.
Unsurprisingly, New South Wales and Victoria, the most populous states, have the largest GSP. They account for 31% and 23% of our national economy.
But the Australian Capital Territory, with a population of 473,000, has a larger GSP than Tasmania despite the Apple Isle’s bigger population of 576,000.
Where the growth occurred
The fastest growing economy in 2023-2024 was the NT, which expanded by 4.6% followed by the ACT, whose GSP was up by 4.0%. These figures, given in real terms, exclude the impact of inflation. Unlike many recent years, the figures are not distorted by the impact of the COVID lockdowns.
The ABS attributes the NT’s strong growth in 2023-24 to
a bounce back in mining production which was hampered by maintenance work and plant shutdowns in 2022-23.
The ACT economy was boosted by “the expansion of government agencies”.
The bronze medal went to Queensland, but it was well behind the territories. Its economy grew by 2.1%, helped by increased coal production.
The laggard was Western Australia, whose economy grew by only 0.5%. Mining and oil and gas production fell due to weather disruptions.
Tasmania’s economy expanded by the national average of 1.4%. But given population growth has been much less there, Tasmania was the only state (along with the territories) whose economy expanded in per person terms.
The recession-proof economy?
Collection of the GSP data started in 1989-1990. Since then the fastest average growth has been recorded by Queensland and the ACT, an annual average of 3.6%.
Last year, the ACT could claim the unique status of being the only state or territory never to have economic activity contract in any of these years. The statisticians have now revised the 1995-96 number (the year the Howard government came in with plans to cut the public service) to a minuscule -0.1% contraction.
But it is still the case that being more services-based makes the ACT economy less volatile.
Growth is down but WA still the wealthiest
The state with the highest level of real GSP per person is Western Australia. It has led in every year the data have been compiled. Real GSP per person has been lowest every year in Tasmania.
WA’s GSP per person is more than double that in Tasmania. This means WA has GSP per person higher than global leaders such as Norway and Switzerland.
Tasmania’s is more like that in Poland. To put it another way, the real GSP per person in Tasmania is only now where the rest of Australia was in 1999.
What causes the differences?
One important cause of these differences is the different structure of industry in the various states.
WA (and the Northern Territory) benefits from its mineral resources. Mining accounts for almost half of WA’s income. Mining is no longer the labour intensive activity it was when men were swinging a pick “down the pit”. It now takes few people to generate a lot of mining revenue.
Tasmania has the smallest proportion of its population working (58% compared to a national average of 64%). One reason is that more than a fifth of Tasmanians are aged over 65. This is the highest proportion of any state.
Furthermore, only a quarter of Tasmanians hold a university degree compared to almost half of Canberrans.
These data on economic performance do not mean the quality of life or wellbeing is lower in Tasmania.
GSP does not reflect factors like the world’s cleanest air being found in Tasmania, for example.
John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Media release – Guy Barnett, Treasurer, 20 November 2024
The Tasmanian economy has now grown to a record $40.6 billion
Key data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that the Tasmanian economy has grown by 1.4 per cent over the past financial year to a record $40.6 billion.
Treasurer, Guy Barnett, said today’s Gross State Product (GSP) data is great news for Tasmania and shows the strength of the State’s economy.
“Our economy has grown to a record $40.6 billion and this data confirms what key economic statistics have been telling us,” the Treasurer said.
“Our GSP per capita also increased by 1.0 per cent, the only state to record a positive GSP per capita and outperforming the national average which was a decrease of 1.0 per cent.
“Under the guidance of a Liberal Government, Tasmania’s economy has continued to grow despite the very challenging economic conditions of the last few years.
“We have historically low levels of unemployment, currently 4.2 per cent, and we’ve created 45,000 more jobs since we came to Government.
“As a Liberal Government, we know the importance of employment and we will continue to back the aspirational job-creating projects Tasmania needs.
“Over the past 10 years, the Tasmanian economy has grown by $8.5 billion, that’s a massive 26.3 per cent.
“This is good news for Tasmanians, yet I am sure it won’t take long for the hapless Labor party to put their trademark negative spin on it.
“This Government has demonstrated that our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future delivers a strong economy and we will continue doing what matters to Tasmanians.”
Media release – Josh Willie MP, Shadow Treasurer, 20 November 2024
State Accounts show manufacturing recession
The 2023-24 State Accounts deliver more evidence of a flatlining economy under the Liberal minority government. 6700 Jobs have been lost since Premier Rockliff started governing in minority, and Tasmania has crashed down the national economic leaderboard.
According to ABS data, Tasmania’s gross state product grew by 1.4% which represents the worst result since COVID in 2019-20 and is well below the 2% forecast by the Liberals’ September state budget.
Specifically, the figures highlight a manufacturing recession driven by the Liberals’ failure to deliver enough power to the state.
Manufacturing output was the worst in the history of the data series, which commenced in 1990. The industry shrunk by 11.3% over the past year, which is the biggest annual decline in 24 years.
Tasmania no longer has enough power for our own industries because there is simply too much red tape and inaction under this government. Tasmania’s power shortage is acting as a ‘closed for business’ sign for the state – risking our clean energy reputation, damaging our economy, and costing our state thousands of safe, secure, well-paid jobs.
The Premier and his Treasurer need to do more to boost the economy and business confidence after the peak business body, the TCCI, recently said it would be difficult to trust the minority Liberal government again.
