Australia Must Wean Itself From China

April 16 (Bloomberg) -- Viewed from afar, even the bad newsin Australia looks pretty good. Unemployment reached a three-year high last month and is now all of 5.6 percent. Leaders suchas U.S. President Barack Obama and French President FrancoisHollande would kill for such a number. Australia has avoided arecession for 21 years, boasts a budget remarkably close tosurplus and continues to enjoy low inflation. On any economicreport card, the country deserves a string of A’s.

That stellar performance should make Prime Minister JuliaGillard a shoo-in for another term, right? Oddly, the prospectsfor Gillard’s Labor Party in September elections appear to dimwith each new batch of economic data. Less than 30 percent ofAustralian voters are satisfied with the prime minister -- herweakest numbers since September 2011. (Only 35 percent aresatisfied with opposition leader Tony Abbott, according to aNewspoll survey published in the Australian newspaper on April9.) Economic insecurity ranks as the main concern among voters.A reminder was delivered yesterday, when China reported slowinggrowth, sending Australia’s main stock index down the most in amonth.