NZ's economy likely to bounce back faster than Australia's due to stricter lockdown - expert

May 19, 2020

Paul Bloxham of HSBC Australia says New Zealand’s lockdown efforts could pay off, money-wise.

New Zealand's stricter lockdown and containment measures could lead to an earlier economic recovery than Australia, HSBC Australia's chief economist says.

Paul Bloxham, speaking last night to Q+A, said he is expecting to see a "stronger bounce back in economic activity" at Levels 2 and 1 than will be seen in Australia.

"They [Australia and New Zealand] both took an approach that was necessary to try and contain the virus, but yes, there was that difference in terms of the extent New Zealand locked down,' Mr Bloxham said.

He said looking at New Zealand's third quarter GDP, there was a "very strong bounce back in New Zealand, whereas in Australia we've basically got it stabilising".

"You might want to call New Zealand's story a lot more 'V' shaped than the 'U' shaped expected for Australia.

"We think both economies are going to be in a position where GDP will be lower than it would have been without the crisis, both economies are going to suffer mainly from the border closures.

"We're expecting the unemployment rate to rise quite sharply in both countries, then to fall, but fall more slowly."

Mr Bloxham said both New Zealand and Australia have actually fared well, compared with other parts of the developed world.

"If you compare where Australia and New Zealand are at compared with the rest of the Western world, it's actually extraordinarily positive."

Chief Economist at HSBC Australia Paul Bloxham spoke about the trans-Tasman bubble’s potential.

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