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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Katie Burgess

ACT is 'the little territory that could': Deloitte

The ACT has increased its share of the Australian economy to a record high, as it defied the national downturn.

The territory was "showing the rest of the country how it's done" as it continued a period of bumper economic growth, Deloitte Access Economic's latest quarterly business outlook said.

Its share of national economic output had risen to 2.2 per cent - its largest ever.

"Although it is Victoria that has held up the best amid the national downturn when looking at just the states, it is the ACT that is the standout when looking across both the states and territories," the report said.

However housing construction is on the backburner, as a glut of apartment complexes are completed.

"This isn't a major downturn - population growth is too strong for that and house prices never did the pump and dump seen in Sydney or Melbourne," the report said.

"And it doesn't have too much further to run: overall housing construction could bottom out as soon as mid 2020, buoyed by lower interest rates."

READ MORE:RBA caused 'Engadine Maccas' moment for economy: Deloitte

Engineering construction was also experiencing a "pause" although light rail stage two was set to plough ahead.

There was also the potential for some "lean times" in commercial construction, despite the $500 million Australian War Memorial Development and the Canberra Hospital SPIRE expansion.

But all up, the ACT "remains the little territory that could", Deloitte said.

"Like Australia more generally at the moment there are headwinds but the ACT remains in good shape to tackle these front-on," the report said.

The ACT's economy is strong although housing construction is on the backburner, Deloitte Access Economics said.
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