Category: RBA

Tough Gauntlet Ahead for New Reserve Bank Chief

Commentary The job of Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) governor might be one to dodge at the moment, but having waited 38 years for the opportunity I guess new Governor Michele Bullock was not going to say no. There are a lot of challenges sitting in her in-tray from day one, including expansionary federal and…


Time to Face the Music: Sacrifices Need to Be Made During Hard Times

Commentary Being a truly independent statutory officeholder requires integrity and grit. Be it the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), a judge or the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor, you have to take your official duty with utmost seriousness. With the privilege of high office comes the countervailing obligation of responsibility. The temptation to give…


Government Have ‘Given Up’ on Fighting Inflation: Deputy Liberal Leader

Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley said she believes the government “has given up” on trying to control inflation. “As I listened to the Treasurer yesterday, I felt that the government has given up. There was a shrugging of the shoulders, what more can we do attitude. But absolutely no plan to address the key issue…


Government Has ‘Given Up’ on Fighting Inflation: Deputy Liberal Leader

Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley said she believes the government “has given up” on trying to control inflation. “As I listened to the Treasurer yesterday, I felt that the government has given up. There was a shrugging of the shoulders, what more can we do attitude. But absolutely no plan to address the key issue…


Opposing Advice From Australia’s RBA Governor ‘Deliberately’ Leaked to Damage Government: Minister

SYDNEY, Australia—Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman, said it was “disappointing” that the individual who leaked an exchange between Labor MPs and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe, saying that they were trying to damage the government. “There’s plenty of ways to have a fight in Parliament. But breaching the…


Canberra Must to Make the Hard Decisions Now to Control Inflation

Commentary Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor, Philip Lowe, has fired a warning shot over the bow of the federal treasurer by raising official interest rates another quarter of a percent this week to 3.85 percent. The hard work on inflation has to be done by the government which has access to a large number…


Canberra Must Make the Hard Decisions Now to Control Inflation

Commentary Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor, Philip Lowe, has fired a warning shot over the bow of the federal treasurer by raising official interest rates another quarter of a percent this week to 3.85 percent. The hard work on inflation has to be done by the government which has access to a large number…


Low- to Middle-Income Australians to Feel the Pinch as Tax Offset Meets Its End

Australians earning under $126,000 a year are bracing for one of the largest tax hikes in history as the federal government’s low- and middle-income tax offset (LMITO) comes to an end in July this year. This means people taking home less than $126,000 (US$84,000) a year will be $1,500 (US$1,000) worse off, while those earning…


‘Nothing Untoward’ in RBA Head Meeting Bankers: Shorten

The government has defended Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe’s decision to give a private briefing to a group of bankers on interest rate hikes before making public statements. Lowe will be questioned about the hikes to the cash rate at a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday as pressure mounts regarding his future in the top…


Australian Interest Rates: How High, How Long?

Commentary Home buyers and businesses are suffering sticker shock as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted the official cash rate from 0.1 percent to 3.35 percent in the course of the nine months since April 2022. But they should probably be thinking of rates of this level as the “new normal.” Assuming lenders pass…