Australia's economic boom, now in its 28th year, is not over. But troubling signs are emerging. The Reserve Bank has cut the official interest rate twice (in June and July 2019) to a record low in response to slowing growth. But just how bad things are right now is subject to debate. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg recently told Parliament that "the fundamentals of the Australian economy are strong", while Labor says the economy is "floundering", with economic activity being tamped down by stagnant wages, cost of living pressures and flagging productivity growth. According to Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers: "Economic growth hasn't been this slow [in the] 10 years since the Global Financial Crisis." It's a serious claim. The GFC started in mid-2007 with the onset of the subprime mortgage meltdown in the US, although the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008 precipitated a new international phase that dragged much of the world into recession. Australia was one of a tiny handful of countries that weathered the storm, notching positive annual growth throughout. But how is it placed now?