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In the Bizarro World of Stephen Koukoulas (‘The Kouk’), the Australian economy was “verging on strong” prior to the bushfires and “when the smoke clears, the Australian economy will be looking strong”:
From the second half of 2020, the net effect on GDP from the fires will be positive as the rebuilding of dwellings, commercial real estate, infrastructure and the replacement of durable items (furniture, white goods, cars, and the like) feed into additional spending.
After a lull, tourists are certain to visit their favourite destinations, even those impacted so badly by the fires.
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.