Golden age' of Australian economy fades as dark clouds loom

SYDNEY, June 30 (AFP): Australia's record-breaking economic run isn't about to end because of a ban on plastic bags - as one lobby group spuriously claimed - but consumers are buying less, offering a cautionary tale for the rest of the world.

Once dubbed the "Goldilocks economy" for avoiding the pitfalls of the global financial crisis, Australia has seen 27 years of uninterrupted expansion - unprecedented in the developed world.

But the outlook appears increasingly bearish, and resilient Australia's faltering growth could be the canary in the coal mine for the world economy.

The economy grew just 0.4 per cent in the first three months of this year, after near-zero expansion in the second half of 2018.

Strip away gains from population growth and the country is technically in a recession. "The big issue is the consumers," National Australia Bank chief economist Alan Oster told AFP.

Like many advanced economies, Australia's unemployment rate is not too bad, but like elsewhere there has been a troublesome mixture of high personal debt and stagnant wages.