Forget the political hoo-ha in the US or the tensions and voter backlash issues in Europe, 2017 will be a better year than the headlines suggest.

“It will be a lovely year –  much better than you think,” Deloitte Access Economics director Chris Richardson has told Outlook 2017 in Canberra.

While 2016 finished with “a lot of fear and a touch of loathing” in a volatile political landscape, Mr Richardson has keenly noted politics was not economics.

He pointed to a year ahead favoured by continuing low interest rates, and returning revenue growth for the Australian economy as Chinese demand continued and the US economy gathered momentum.

Australia posted a record seasonally adjusted trade surplus of $3.5 billion in December and that may even turn into a current account surplus - the positive difference between a nation’s savings and investment.

The recent strengthened Australian dollar –  up from around US72 cents to US76c in the past four months – reflected the strengthening health of Australia Pty Ltd as average national revenue growth from housing, mining, grain and livestock production recovered towards six per cent from a significant dip to below two per cent in 2015.

After five years in which Australian living standards had flattened or dipped, commodity exports were likely to keep driving revenue gains for the next few years.

“The world is throwing money at us again,” Mr Richardson said.