Treasurer Wayne Swan today brushed off fears Australia's economy was slowing as he blamed one-off factors such as a strong currency and bad weather for data showing growth eased in the last quarter.
The economy grew by a worse than expected 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to the end of September - the slowest since the depths of the financial crisis - as the key export sector was hurt.
The sluggish figure followed revised growth of 1.1% the previous quarter and translated into annual expansion of 2.7%, down from 3.3% in the previous three months, official statistics showed.
However, Swan said the easing was a result of the surging Australian dollar and bad weather which forced three resources ports to close during the period, hitting coal and iron ore exports.
He stressed that the more modest figures were just a 'bump in the road' for Australia, which is in the grips of a mammoth resources boom that helped it become the only advanced economy to avoid recession during the global downturn.
'Economies are judged by their performance over years, not quarters, and by any measure ours remains a stunning success,' Swan said, describing Australia as an 'island of resilience in a sea of uncertainty'.
'There is no doubt that there is a surge of investment still coming down that pipeline,' he added.
The data represent the slowest quarter since December 2008 - the height of the financial crisis - when Australia slumped to negative growth of 1% before rebounding strongly. Analysts had expected growth of 0.4% for the quarter and 3.4% for the 12 months to September.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed improved household and capital expenditure was offset by a 'strong fall in net exports'. It said Australia's terms of trade rose 0.8% in the September quarter compared with 11.9% in the three months to June.
Exports fell 2.4% in the quarter, with the key mining sector slipping 0.7% from June to subtract 0.1 percentage points from growth. However, growth in the mining sector was up 4.9% from September 2009.
Swan last month said Australia was on track for 3.25% growth this year and 3.75% for 2011-12 in official mid-year budget forecasts that also confirmed a return to surplus in 2012-13.
Most analysts saw the result as temporary dip for Australia, which emerged largely unscathed by the global slump due to resilient demand for its raw materials from fast-industrialising Asia.
