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Peter Downes

September

The RBA has been slammed by former treasurer Wayne Swan.

The RBA isn’t hammering anything – it’s kept stability for decades

We should be out celebrating. Even as inflation blew past 7 per cent, the RBA’s targeting model has kept the spiral of inflationary expectations in check.

January

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has swung around behind the tax cuts.

The case for stage three tax cuts is fading

The cost of the stage three cuts makes it even more important to reform the rest of the tax system that will be bearing the burden.

July 2023

Guy Debelle has decided to put his climate change convictions into practice.

Guy Debelle is standout candidate to be next RBA governor

The treasurer should appoint arguably the finest policy economist of his generation – someone with central banking skills without peer.

May 2023

Former RBA governor Ian Macfarlane and current RBA governor Philip Lowe.

No, Big Mac, the RBA has not outperformed its peers

Contrary to what the former governor Ian Macfarlane reckons, there is ample evidence of flawed central bank monetary policy decision-making in the early 1990s and 2010s.

May 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends a Liberal Party rally at Morphettville Racecourse in the seat of Boothby.

Morrison’s jobs pledge will demand groundbreaking reforms

Creating an extra half a million jobs above budget forecasts requires all the policy reforms that both parties balk at.

March 2021

Eliminating the age and sex discrimination in the subsidies design will improve the fairness of the COVID-19 recovery policies.

Time to end the sex discrimination in JobMaker

JobMaker should be simplified, and the age targeting dropped. JobMaker discriminates most against women over 35. Eliminating the age and sex discrimination in the subsidy could generate 100,000 jobs.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/peter-downes-p4yw70