Greens accuse RBA governor of siding with big banks
The Greens have hit out at the outgoing Reserve Bank governor over his support for the big banks while Australians are facing a worsening housing crisis.
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Outgoing Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has been slammed for siding with the big banks by Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather as the minor party attempts to step up its campaign for the federal government to co-ordinate a national rent freeze
The attack came ahead of Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hopes to clinch a deal with states and territories leaders to tackle soaring rental prices and rapidly shrinking housing supply.
Dr Lowe had previously rebuked the Greens’ policies to boost rental assistance and cap rent increases in his final appearance before parliament on Friday, labelling the proposals as “short-term solutions” that would “make the problem worse”.
“In most cases, rent controls reduce incentives to add to supply,” Dr Lowe claimed.
Appearing on RN Breakfast on Monday, Mr Chandler-Mather hit back at Dr Lowe’s comments against the Greens’ measures.
“I would be sceptical about the RBA governor talking down rent caps,” Mr Chandler-Mather said.
“I think he‘s overseeing the financial system and the creation of a financial system that overwhelmingly benefits banks.
“I think it’s fair enough that when rents have gone up at the fastest rate we’ve seen in 35 years … That we slow that down to give one-third of this country who rents a little bit of a break.”
Rents have increased by more than 10 per cent a year for the past three years, while increased housing supply has also been outstripped by population growth, heaping pressure on governments to respond.
Dr Lowe’s intervention has been used to further bolster the case against the Greens’ proposals, as the government’s beleaguered Housing Australia Future Fund legislation remains deadlocked in the Senate.
At the committee hearing, Dr Lowe also pushed back against claims that big banks were profiteering from high interest rates, arguing that the regulations governing the sector necessitated banks meet stringent capital requirements.
The comments came after Australia’s largest retail bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), posted a record cash profit of more than $10bn for financial year 2022-23, while repayments for borrowers on variable rates jumped 10 times over that same period.
Dr Lowe also told the committee that borrowers facing higher repayments on their loans should shop around and seek out a more competitive deal.
“If you don’t like the fact that banks are earning so much money, then I encourage you to shop around and make (the banks) work harder for your money,” Dr Lowe told the hearing.
The Greens have separately accused the banks of price gouging their customers and profiteering from high inflation. CBA’s record profit result was seized upon by the Greens as justification for the implementation of a “super-profits tax”.
“Corporate profits are driving inflation, and it is this inflation that is making people’s lives harder and harder,” senator Mareen Faruqi claimed following CBA’s profit result.
Originally published as Greens accuse RBA governor of siding with big banks
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