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Australia at "no risk" of recession despite poor economic figures: Treasurer

Xinhua, September 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australia's Treasurer Joe Hockey has downplayed talk of Australia entering a recession, a day after new statistics showed the nation's economy grew just 0.2 percent in the June quarter.

On Thursday, following the release of the data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Hockey was quick to say there was "no risk" of a recession.

Speaking to the Nine Network, Hockey said measures currently being drawn up by the government would serve to stimulate economy, noting the China-Australia free trade agreement as a major factor in rebooting the nations GDP.

"There is no risk of recession in Australia," Hockey said on Thursday..

"But, if we don't continue down the path of delivering free trade agreements, getting rid of taxes, getting rid of regulation, and opening up more of the Australian economy to competition, then we will risk significant job losses and slower economic growth," Hockey said.

The 0.2 percent figure translates to an annual growth of 2 percent -- well below the long-term Australian average of 3-3.5 percent -- but Hockey said next quarter's results would be much healthier.

He said other sectors of business had shown great gains since the end of the country's mining boom, a sign that Australia's economy would remain strong.

"Looking forward, we are already two months into the first quarter of a new financial year, and the government's May budget is already adding momentum to the Australian economy," Hockey told the Nine Network.

"Business conditions outside the mining sector have risen to their highest level in almost five years," he added.

Meanwhile the country's Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the economy was in good hands.

"We are very optimistic about the outlook moving forward," he said on Thursday.

But the Opposition has slammed the statistics, with shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen saying that government had to be mad to see positivity in the latest results.

"The Treasurer has actually got to have a dose of reality," he told the ABC. Endi