Economic growth misses expectations as GDP increases 0.6 per cent in September quarter

By business reportersMichael Janda andRhiana Whitson, Wed 7 Dec 2022.

Australia's economic growth has come in slightly below expectations, with GDP growing by 0.6 per cent in the September quarter and 5.9 per cent through the year.

The result was Australia's fourth consecutive quarter of economic growth following a contraction during the COVID-19 Delta wave lockdowns last year, but growth decelerated from 0.9 per cent the quarter before. ...

Consumer spending was a key driver of the economic growth, as life returned to more normal patterns after two years of significant pandemic disruption. ...

"Households continued to increase spending on domestic and international travel as COVID-19 travel restrictions continued to ease," Sean Crick, the head of the ABS national accounts unit, said. "Spending on new vehicle purchases increased as international supply-chain constraints eased, enabling an increase in vehicle imports."

However, most economists are not expecting this spending spree to last in the face of higher interest rates. "GDP growth will come to a standstill next year," Capital Economics analyst Marcel Thieliant said.

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(Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-07/gdp-increases-0-6-per-cent-in-september-quarter/101742812)

The article says the Australian economy experienced a contraction due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. In terms of aggregate demand (AD), explain why the lockdowns caused this contraction.(You do not need to draw a diagram.)