As January 2021 dawned, Deloitte named Australia as one of only five countries – along with Taiwan, China, Vietnam and New Zealand – to be ‘very well-placed’ in terms of economic outlook. It declared that it was ideally positioned because of:

• Low COVID-19 numbers
• Rebounding confidence
• Promising development in jobs markets
• Little impact from the trade war with China
• ‘Excellent’ vaccine news (or, perhaps more accurately, it seemed excellent)

It also predicted some pretty robust levels of economic growth:

 

However, six months later, CommSec’s annual State of the States reported a much less rosy picture as the Delta variant tore through Sydney and swathes of Melbourne. The new projected annual growth rates were:

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