Opinion

Why the RBA has a massive public education job to do

Despite the RBA’s increased messaging, most people still don’t understand why inflation broke out in the first place.

Michael StutchburyEditor-at-large

Oct 18, 2024 – 12.10pm

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The Reserve Bank of Australia’s annual policy conference this week showed that it is catching up to what some call the second revolution in central bank communication.

But this confronts a basic central bank failing. Amid all the increased messaging and intense focus on monthly interest rate decisions, most people still don’t understand why inflation broke out around the world in the first place.

Michael Stutchbury is the former editor-in-chief and editor-at-large of The Australian Financial Review. Michael left in 2025 after more than four decades writing and editing national newspapers.