Monetary policy is at a tipping point. If the Reserve Bank of Australia board makes the wrong decision next Tuesday or in coming months, it risks plunging the economy into a needless, painful recession.

Yet those advocating the sanctity of an independent monetary policy, above all else, expect the federal government to play the part of helpless bystander. The Australian people have a different view: at federal elections, they entrust the government to make decisions that are in their interests, not to be passive observers.