Economy grows by just 2.4 per cent after worst net-trade result since 2012

The Australian Bureau of Statistics national accounts figures released on Wednesday showed weak exports detracted 0.4 percentage points from the overall GDP result while imports detracted 0.1 percentage points.

"The decline in net trade is the weakest result since March quarter 2012," the ABS found.

The figures were fuelled by a decline from historically high levels of agriculture exports in the final three months of the year.

The Treasurer said the result reaffirmed "the need to keep fighting for access to international markets" as the US threatens to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum, raising fears of tit-for-tat barriers on a variety of exports. 

"We have always been a trading nation and we must continue to do that," he said. 

Mr Morrison said the overall economic growth figure of 0.4 per cent in the December quarter did not "emphasise the underlying strength and resilience of the domestic economy".

The quarterly result could have been worse if not for increased spending from consumers in the lead-up to Christmas.

Household consumption grew by 1 per cent in the quarter after rising energy costs forced shoppers to abandon stores in the three months to September.

Between the states, Victoria recorded the weakest result on the east-coast, up by 0.3 per cent, less than a third of the rate of growth of NSW.

Outside of household consumption, multi-billion dollar taxpayer funded infrastructure projects from both the NSW and Victorian governments have done much of the economic heavy lifting.

Without government spending Victoria would have suffered a significantly weaker result.

The net increase in publicly funded infrastructure surged by 11 per cent, making up for a fall in the private sector of 6 per cent.

The gains in both those sectors partially offset falls in a cooling housing market.

Non-mining investment in the private sector also helped limit some of the effects of the end of the resources boom, leaving total investment down by only 1.5 per cent compared to the September quarter.

Compensation of employees - which measures Australia's total wage bill rather than wage rises for individual workers - rose by 1.1 per cent.

While wage growth is still weak, the number of people employed and the hours they have worked have both risen on the back of record jobs growth.

Mr Morrison said two-thirds of the rise could be attributed to an increase in the number of employees, while one-third was a jump in average-weekly earnings.

In figures highlighted by the Treasurer, company profits have been weighed down by higher commodity prices, leading to a drop of 1.5 per cent over the three-month period, but he said he had begun feeling more "optimistic" about wages growth.

"For a prolonged period there company profits were negative and they were certainly growing at a much slower rate in terms of what was happening with the national wages bill," he said.

"In more recent times, they've come back together, with normal transmission being resumed in the supply and demand in the tightness of the labour market.

"That's why I have more optimism today than I may have had two years ago," he said

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen said Wednesday's result was dissapointing.

"The Government has had a strong global economic backdrop in years and hasn’t had to deal with a global financial crisis, yet economic growth remains stuck below trend and low wages growth continues to be a concern," he said.