I would like to focus on these issues in my talk today, but, before I do, it might be useful if I set out some facts and figures. 2. Historical and international comparisons  Following the recession in the early 1990s, the Australian economy began to grow again in the September quarter 1991 (Graph 1).
In the period since, the economy has grown in every quarter except three. Graph 1  BIS Review 108/2010  1  There were a couple of periods when economic growth slowed noticeably, but at no time did year-ended growth turn negative. The lowest rate that year-ended growth fell to was 0.7 per cent. That was in the year to the March quarter 2009.