{"id":257876,"date":"2020-05-11T15:04:34","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T05:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=257876"},"modified":"2020-07-11T10:08:48","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T00:08:48","slug":"burnett-faces-slight-covid-19-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/05\/11\/burnett-faces-slight-covid-19-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Burnett Faces ‘Slight’ COVID-19 Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An interactive map prepared by SGS Economics and Planning forecasts economic impacts of the New Year bushfires and COVID-19 will fall differently in different Australian regions (Graphic: SGS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 11, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South Burnett may miss the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, according to modelling by economic research firm SGS Economics and Planning (SGS).<\/p>\n

In a new report, SGS believes the regional economies likely to be worst affected are those with a heavy reliance on tourism, have major airports, or have major CBDs.<\/p>\n

Regional economies – such as the South Burnett – that are not heavily reliant on these things should suffer only slight impacts.<\/p>\n

SGS have projected that COVID-19’s impact on the South Burnett’s GDP in 2019-20 will be in the range of zero to -2.5 per cent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The same applies to the neighbouring Western Downs and North Burnett regions.<\/p>\n

All three regions have a heavy reliance on agriculture, natural resources and energy production, and very little reliance on tourism.<\/p>\n

By contrast, neighbouring Gympie and Somerset regions could suffer a 7.5 to 10.0 per cent contraction.<\/p>\n

And Toowoomba could suffer a 2.5 to 5 per cent contraction.<\/p>\n

SGS believes that nationally, Australia\u2019s GDP is expected to decline by 6.7 per cent in 2019-20 compared to the 2018-19 fiscal year as a result of the New Year bushfires and COVID-19 restrictions. <\/strong><\/p>\n

This estimated decline accounts for the various stimulus measures announced by all levels of government.<\/p>\n

Without these, SGS believes the 2019-20 decline would be more than 14 per cent.<\/p>\n

SGS also believes the nation’s economy will rebound once the pandemic crisis has passed, but are unable to predict whether this will be a rapid or a slow recovery.<\/p>\n

In a best-case scenario, SGS estimate the nation’s economy could return to its 2018-19 level in 2020-21.<\/p>\n

However, they warn that a deeper or longer recession could push a return to 2018-19 levels back as far as 2023-24.<\/p>\n