Jorge Branco reports in the Brisbane Times (23.1.17) on the release of CommSec’s quarterly ‘State of the States’ report, which shows Queensland’s economy improving in some measures but surpassed in economic performance by all the other east coast states and the ACT.
‘Tasmania has leapfrogged Queensland in the latest national economic report card despite improvement in the sunshine state.
‘Population growth was a major bright spot for Queensland as it recorded its highest annual figure in almost two years, according to the latest CommSec State of the States report.
‘But even that 1.35 per cent increase was 30 per cent down on the 10-year average, which the report used to analyse performance.
‘The state was also buoyed by continuously strong levels of housing construction, with dwelling starts 36.5 per cent above the decade average.
‘The increases helped the state’s economy lift from sixth to seventh overall as New South Wales maintained a firm grip on the top spot.’