In a very real sense, our experience has been much closer to that of many of our major trading partners in Asia, than it has been to that of the other advanced economies of the world. As a result, we are operating closer to full capacity than other developed countries, and the challenges we face are quite different to the ones that they face.
In the Statement last week, the Bank published its updated forecasts for the next few years. The central forecast is for the Australian economy to expand by around 3¼ per cent over 2010, before growth picks up to be in the 3¾–4 per cent range over the next couple of years (Graph 6).