Jim Chalmers will decide if RBA boss Philip Lowe keeps the job from September

Australians will soon find out whether RBA governor Philip Lowe will keep his job or be replaced – with Treasurer Jim Chalmers making the call.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed RBA governor Philip Lowe’s head could be on the chopping block and he will announce his decision next month.

The contract for the job of running the Reserve Bank is up in September amid a storm of controversy over a string of interest rate rises.

There is an option to renew the contract for three years but that is now up to the Treasurer.

Dr Chalmers told ABC radio Thursday morning that it was a “big job and a big call” and the government is working through the decision in a methodical way.

In April, Dr Lowe said he was happy to serve out another term – if he’s asked.

But he’s also under fire over mistakes the RBA made when it told homeowners that mortgages wouldn’t go up and advising people to get a lodger to save money.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe says he is happy to continue in the job if offered it. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

“It is a great honour and it is a great privilege to have the job that I have and I would also say it is a great responsibility,” Dr Lowe said.

“It is entirely up to the government whether I continue to serve in this role after September.

“If I was asked to continue, I would. If I’m not asked to continue I will find another way to contribute to Australian society.”

But he also clarified he wasn’t pitching for another three years.

“All I said was if I was asked to stay, then I would,” he replied.

“It’s an important responsible honourable job.

“If the government would like me to stay then I’m happy to. If they want to have someone else for the reasons you are articulating, I perfectly understand that, and I have other things to do with my life.”

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers will decide if Dr Lowe will continue in his job from September. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The Treasurer was also asked about rising rents and the breakdown in negotiations with the Greens over housing policy measures

“We’ve got the biggest increase in rent assistance for three decades. We’ve got new tax breaks for build to rent properties,’’ he said.

“We’ve got a whole suite of policies including tomorrow I’ll be convening the state and territory treasurers to advance our housing accord and to make sure we’re all working together to get the funding right to get the zoning and planning right to work with industry to build more homes for more people who desperately need them.

“We would prefer the support of the Greens in order to do that, but in the absence of that support, with all of their political posturing and product differentiation, we will do what we can without them.”

But he was not enthusiastic about offering a rent freeze or more to appease the Greens on rents.

“I think we’ve already been incredibly accommodating and respectful,’’ he said.

“We put it to the senate and the Greens voted against it. We know why they did it. And that’s because they’re more interested in fighting with Labor than fighting for Australians who need somewhere to live. That’s what it boils down to.”

Chalmers was questioned about unemployment comments made by Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Michele Bullock. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

He’s also been grilled on the RBA’s deputy governor Michele Bullock’s speech where she spoke about a rise in unemployment to help lower inflation.

But there are fears the targets could result in 140,000 people losing their jobs.

“I think what the deputy governor was referring to was simply reflecting the fact that both the Reserve Bank’s forecasts and the Treasury forecasts in the budget expect an uptick in unemployment at the same time as we expect a moderation in inflation,’’ he said.

“I think her comments really just reflected those forecasts. And we’ve been pretty upfront, I think, as a government, in saying that we expect the economy to slow because of higher interest rates and because of tricky global conditions, and that will have implications for the labour market as well.

“But let’s not lose sight of the really quite remarkable performance of our country when it comes to the labour market record employment, record participation, unemployment with a three in front of it, given everything that’s coming at us from around the world, that those are remarkable outcomes. And it means we enter this period of global economic uncertainty from a position of relative strength and that’s a good thing.”