New Treasurer Jim Chalmers with Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe, and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb at parliament house on Wednesday.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Treasurer Jim Chalmers on the ‘spiky’ parts of Australia’s inflation problem
Michelle Grattan speaks with the New Treasurer Jim Chalmers as he intends to deliver a "pretty blunt, pretty frank" assessment of Australia's challenges to parliament soon after it returns
The share of the population in work has hit an all-time high as the share of the workforce underemployed has hit a 14-year low. The fresh low in unemployment will bring higher interest rates, and perhaps higher wages.
The Reserve Bank, as expected, has thrown its grenade into the election campaign, but neither government nor opposition can be sure which side will be more damaged, or advantaged, by the explosion.
The government used to set interest rates but it doesn’t anymore. If UAP really did try to deliver on an election promise to cap interest rates at 3% for five years, what would the consequences be?
Philip Lowe mightn’t be a household name but the Reserve Bank governor finds himself catapulted right into the centre of this election campaign, in which events are proving more important than policies.
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Saul Eslake on why Reserve Bank needs to raise rates next week
Michelle Grattan speaks with independent economist Saul Eslake on whether the reserve bank will next week raise interest rates for the first time in an election campaign for the first time since 2007
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Unemployment is far lower than predicted and isn’t setting off the kind of inflation seen in the United States. There’s no telling how much lower it can go.
Reserve Bank Philip Lowe addressing the National press Club in Sydney on Wednesday.
Bianca de Marchi/AAP
Central banking was given to technocrats whose job is to make the difficult decisions. But there are parameters. And within these, central bankers must act independently, without fear or favour.
Much of the jump in inflation from 1.1% to 3.8% is transient, and the lockdown in NSW will suppress what’s left. But even if you still fear inflation, there are things you can do.
Former prime minister Paul Keating has launched an extraordinary attack on the Reserve Bank, accusing it of having “one of its dalliances with indolence”, and describing it as “the Reverse Bank”.
Distinguished Professor of Economics and Public Policy, ANU Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA), Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
