RBA wants new data to reveal the impact of Chalmers' subsidies on inflation
Documents obtained by Capital Brief show the central bank wants more accurate inflation data — including a measure that strips out government subsidies.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has been privately urging the Australian Bureau of Statistics to improve the accuracy of its inflation data and to develop a new measure that strips out the impact of government subsidies on consumer prices.
Documents released to Capital Brief under freedom of information laws relating to correspondence between the RBA and the ABS show the central bank has given its wholehearted support to a proposed plan to release a comprehensive monthly CPI measure.
But the RBA's economics department has also suggested the ABS could expand the data it publishes to better indicate how government subsidies and taxes are affecting inflation.
The pitch was made ahead of a disagreement between central bank officials and Treasurer Jim Chalmers over the impact of the latest federal budget on inflation.
