After the 1.9 per cent hit to growth delivered in the September quarter last year,as Victoria,NSW and the ACT bunkered down,the economy expanded 3.4 per cent through the final three months of 2021.
The growth was driven by consumers who,having been freed from their home offices and kitchen benches,could spend the money sitting in their bank accounts and enliven the economy.
Shoppers in NSW almost doubled their spending on clothing and footwear to a record $4 billion. They increased their expenditure through the state’s cafes,restaurants and hotels by almost 50 per cent or a lazy $1.7 billion.
South of the Murray,Victorians spent an extra $1.7 billion on recreational and cultural pursuits in just three months,taking the quarterly total to an all-time high of $7.7 billion.
Even Canberran shoppers got in on the act. Spending on health (up 18 per cent),household furnishings (19 per cent) and new cars (24 per cent) all lifted sharply as the economy re-opened.
Of the 3.4 per cent expansion of the economy,the increase in household spending accounted for 3.2 per cent.