Australia, April 21 – Last Monday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd conceded for the first time that Australia is heading for a recession. He announced that it is inevitable given the current global downturn.

“The worst global economic recession in 75 years means it’s inevitable that Australia will be dragged into recession,” Rudd said during a jobs forum in Adelaide.

In his earlier statements, the Prime Minister has always skirted the issue of recession. While he admits that it would be virtually impossible for Australia’s economy to record positive growth during the global financial crisis, he always managed to choose his language carefully.

However, on Monday, he announced that seven out of ten of Australia’s top trading partners are already in recession. The country could not avoid the same fate. “The severity of the global recession has made it impossible for Australia to avoid a further period of negative economic growth,” he says.

The Australian economy posted its first negative growth figures in the last quarter of 2008 and is expected to do the same in the first quarter of 2009. Australia’s last recession was in early 1990s.

The Rudd Government is addressing the issue with a AUD$50 billion economic stimulus package. “The challenge for government is to cushion the impact of recession on business and jobs, through the actions we take, through economic stimulus strategy,” says Rudd.

The Australian Government will be injecting AUD$28.8 billion into schools, housing and infrastructure over four years. Business will receive tax breaks and taxpayers are expected to receive one-off cash payments of up to AUD$900.

Source:
google.com