Is Australia’s post-COVID economy smoke and mirrors?

Tuesday 27 May 2025

Coolabah Capital portfolio manager Chris Joye published an article in The AFR highlighting the giant contribution of government spending to Australia’s post-COVID economy.

A gigantic government cash splash has helped. In fact, a remarkable 63% of all Australia’s economic growth since December 2019 has been driven by the public, rather than private, sector.

Expressed another way, 53% of all jobs created since 2019 have been attributable to government agencies rather than private firms.

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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.