Ask the Squiz: GDP made easy

Ask the Squiz

We’re back with another edition of Ask the Squiz, where we answer your questions about what’s been in the news. In this edition, we’ll look at:

• what Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is and why it keeps cropping up

• how in vitro fertilisation (IVF) regulation works in Australia

• what Donald Trump means when he says “radical left”

• and what’s happening with the algal bloom in South Australia…

Prefer to listen or watch?

Listen to Andrew Williams and Claire Kimball cover these topics in this podcast episode, or check it out on YouTube - and hit subscribe while you’re at it.

Listen time: 18 minutes

Easy, GD-Peasy…

Our first question comes up a lot when we’re talking about the economy and defence. It’s from Celeste, who asks: Can you explain Australia’s GDP and its make-up? What are our biggest industries, and how does our GDP compare with other countries?
This is a great question and an important topic. So, the data for the GDP is released by the Bureau of Stats every quarter, and it’s a key measure of the health of our economy. It looks at the total value of all goods and services produced over a year and tells us if our economy is growing, shrinking, or stagnating.

Let’s drill into it - how is GDP measured?
There are 3 ways to measure economic output: by production, income, or expenditure. The Bureau of Statistics averages all three to get the final figure. 

Can you explain that a bit more…
Sure thing… When you get to that final number, there's nominal GDP, which is the raw dollar value, but we can’t use that one because prices can fluctuate during certain periods, and there could be all sorts of reasons for that. The key number we’re looking out for is real GDP, which adjusts for inflation - or deflation - and that’s where you get the actual growth number from. 

What was the value of our economy last financial year?
It was worth $2.8 trillion, and our growth rate was 1.3% - meaning our economy was 1.3% bigger in FY25 compared to FY24. Although it’s growing, it needs to be about double that for us to continue to improve our standard of living… 

Is that why increasing our productivity has been such a focus this year?
Bingo… That’s the conversation we want to be having - not one about the numbers. It’s about what we need to do so we can have a better life, better infrastructure, safer communities, an education system that’s accessible and successful, and a terrific health system. We could go on, but you get it; it’s important… 

What makes up our GDP?
Services dominate at about 63% - so, we’re talking about sectors like finance, healthcare, education, and tourism. Mining makes up about 12% of the economy - it’s a huge industry for us in terms of exports. Retail and wholesale trade is 11.5%, and construction is 8.6%. Agriculture is a big employer and exporter for us, but it’s about 2.5% of GDP now, so we’re no longer riding on the sheep’s back…

What about small businesses?
A shout out to our fellow small business friends… Our sector contributes about a third of total GDP, or $590 billion. 

Where do we sit globally?
We’re the 14th largest economy in the world - so not too shabby for a nation of 27 million people… 

Why should I know about GDP?
It comes up a lot in the news, and not just in economic contexts. Recently, for example, the US has been asking us to lift our defence spending as a percentage of our GDP… So hopefully next time it comes up, this segment has helped.

What’s changed in the world of IVF…

Another big story from earlier in the year concerned our IVF industry in Australia - you might remember the story about Monash IVF and its embryo mixups that landed the company in hot water. And it leads to this interesting question from Kate: How is the IVF industry regulated in Australia, and has anything changed in the months since that story?
It’s a good question, because it’s very complicated and it changes depending on where you are. We have a thing in Australia called the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee. It has a code of practice - and to be able to operate a clinic in Australia, you need accreditation from it…

What was the main issue in the Monash incidents?
According to Monash, it was human error. The first instance was a case of a couple being implanted with the wrong embryo, and then later giving birth to a child with no genetic link to them. The code of practice says that clinics have to provide evidence that they are constantly updating and reviewing their record-keeping and procedures, and they’re obliged to report any issues to that committee as soon as they know about them. 

So, there’s one layer of regulation?
Yep, but compared to the rest of the world, IVF regulation in Australia is pretty strong… 

What other guidelines are in place?
There’s also a set of ethical guidelines from the National Health and Medical Research Council that clinics have to stick to, and on top of that - and this is where it gets a bit tricky - each state and territory has different laws. 

Can you give me an example?
Yep… Western Australia has tougher restrictions when it comes to single women being able to access IVF services than other states. In Queensland, where the initial Monash incident happened, the state had just last year changed its laws. Before that, the fertility industry there was pretty much self-regulated and far less stringent… 

What happened in the second incident?
That happened in June, and as you might imagine, questions were asked about this piecemeal approach - especially given Monash IVF, which is a major company, operates nationally…

What happened?
The Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand - the peak body for the industry in Australia - said in a review from September last year that Australia needed a national plan. It said having different approaches in different places leads to IVF being more or less expensive depending on where you live, issues where certain states were keeping records and data better than others, and it also pointed to our declining birth rate in Australia as a reason we need a national approach.

Has anything changed?
The short answer is yes - following the second Monash mix-up, the government commissioned a review into the IVF industry. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler - who is the father of an IVF child himself - said in September that every one of the recommendations from that review has been accepted.

What are the main ones?
There will be a new body responsible for the accreditation of fertility clinics and people within the industry. As of January 2027, that will now fall under the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. It will also look after things like making sure complaints are heard and keeping track of data. 

Will that suffice?
The Fertility Society says it’s a start, but it’s not nearly enough. They’ve pointed out that there are still more than 40 different laws concerning IVF throughout the country, and they’re calling for those laws to be nationally consistent. The government hasn’t gone that far yet, but if there’s another mix-up in the fertility industry, you can bet those calls will get really loud…

What’s the deal with the radical left…

Next up, a question from Helen, who asks: I keep hearing US President Donald Trump referring to the “radical left”, specifically in relation to violence and in the context of the murder of Charlie Kirk. Can you explain what fits this description, please?
Happy to help, Helen… Trump's use of the term “radical left” has really stepped up in recent weeks. It's a loaded term that politicians from the right use when they're typically referring to progressive activists and movements they view as extreme. And its use is contentious…

Why is that?
Critics argue it's often applied too broadly to mainstream progressive positions. There are some small far-left groups in America that do exist - anarchist collectives, some antifa cells, and revolutionary communist organisations. But this is a conversation connected to incidents of political violence in the US, and the data on that is complicated…

Tell me more…
When we researched this, we found a great article from The Economist, which went through the data, and they found that while both left and right-wing violence occurs, right-wing attacks have historically been more frequent and deadly - that’s according to groups like the Anti-Defamation League. But the Centre for Strategic and International Studies noted 2025 could see more left-wing incidents, mainly because right-wing incidents dropped sharply. And researchers stress that assigning ideology to violence is inherently subjective.

Who is Trump labelling “radical left”?
He's previously included Black Lives Matter activists, antifa (short for anti-fascist), Democratic Socialists of America members, and even mainstream Democrats in that tent. The boundaries are fuzzy…

Has America seen far-left violence in the past?
Yes… The Weather Underground in the 1970s, for instance. But current data suggests it's not the dominant threat. Most Americans, regardless of political affiliation, reject political violence - surveys show fewer than 10% support it. But there are radical elements in both the left and right-aligned movements. 

What do they want?
Both want dramatic change that aligns with their world views… So, political violence from any ideology is rare but concerning, and the rhetoric around who's responsible often obscures the actual data showing most Americans want peaceful political engagement. 

Checking in on the Algal Bloom…

Let’s also check in with one other story we’ve previously covered in Ask the Squiz - the toxic algal bloom in South Australia. We’ve received some feedback from some of our South Oz Squizers that it hasn’t gone anywhere and it’s causing some real damage…
It is… To the point where some people have had to move, change jobs and/or get medical attention. So, this algal bloom has now been affecting the state for 6 months. As we’ve talked about, the algae is called Karenia mikimotoi - it causes mild health issues for humans, but it’s deadly for animals.

When will it go away?
That’s the thing - no one knows when or if it might ever go away. Marine scientist Professor Mike Steer is leading the state’s response. He gives weekly updates and he says this is an unprecedented event and the bloom now ranks among the top 10 in the world in terms of how long it’s hung around. 

A very unwelcome visitor…
That’s the story - just how long this bloom is lasting, and the concerning impact it’s having on health, jobs and the economy. 

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Onto our Recommendations…

Reading: This article in The Conversation gives a good insight into the business of IVF in Oz.

Reading: This article in The Economist (paywalled) on political violence in the US and this BBC explainer on antifa which looks at the same issue.

Reading: The ABC has published this really detailed piece looking into the impact the algal bloom is having on South Oz now we’re around the 6-month mark.

Listening: And if you’re keen for a deeper dive into our GDP and why it matters, this episode of The Economy, Stupid gives a good take on that.

Keep your questions coming…

We're interested in more questions from Squizers so we can drill down on what you want to know more about.

We’ll be back with another Ask the Squiz in the first week of November - so if you’ve got a question you’d like answered about the news, send it through to [email protected] and we’ll answer it then. Stay tuned…

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