RBA reforms passed in the Senate
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More news: Labor has passed its historic reforms to the central bank, securing the changes late on Thursday.
What they said: Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government had "locked in reforms to modernise the Reserve Bank".
"We’re ensuring Australia’s central bank remains world class with a monetary policy framework fit to meet our current and future economic challenges," Chalmers said in a statement.
"These laws will reinforce the Reserve Bank’s independence, clarify its mandate, and modernise its structures. This is one of the 11 Treasury bills that passed the Senate this week and show we can maintain a primary focus on inflation and the cost of living while we keep the reform wheels turning," he said.
"This legislation will deliver the biggest set of reforms undertaken at the Reserve Bank in more than three decades."
RBA governor Michele Bullock was asked about the changes at a CEDA event on Thursday evening, ahead of the bill being passed.
"[We have] already made a lot of changes ... to the way we operate the Reserve Bank board at the moment, and we are already leaning into some of these changes," she said.
"So if it goes through, I think there's clearly going to be some structural things that are going to go on, but I think that the monetary policy board, I think we're already moving that direction, so we're just going to keep, keep on moving that direction and basically being agile."
Bullock spent a significant part of her speech referring to the "transformation" under way at the central bank, separate to any government-introduced reforms. This included challenging internal thinking and bringing in new expertise as well as bolstering communications with the public.
Labor has numbers to pass RBA reforms after Pocock backs plan
The news: Labor has the numbers to pass its long-stalled reforms to the Reserve Bank (RBA) after independent David Pocock confirmed he will back the changes.
The context: The Australian Financial Review reported this week that the Greens and independent Jacqui Lambie were set to back the changes, leaving Labor just one vote short of passing them.
A spokesperson for Pocock told Capital Brief on Thursday that he will also back the changes, pushing the government over the edge.
The bill, which the Coalition has long opposed, would establish two new boards at the RBA for interest rate settings and governance.
The Greens dropped their long-standing demand for Treasurer Jim Chalmers to force the RBA to cut rates, which Labor declared a non-starter, before they would back the reforms.
They also dropped calls for concessions over Labor’s Help to Buy scheme this week.
The source: Australian Financial Review
