Coalition throws support behind ‘steady hand’ Philip Lowe
Opposition Finance spokeswoman Jane Hume has all but called on the government to reappoint Philip Lowe.
Opposition Finance spokeswoman Jane Hume has all but called on the government to reappoint Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe, describing him as a “steady hand” as she accused the government of “demonising” him.
When asked on Sky News if Department of Finance Secretary Jenny Wilkinson would be a good replacement should Dr Lowe’s contract not be renewed, Senator Hume instead commended the RBA governor.
“I’ve always had a terrific relationship with Jenny Wilkinson and I’m a great admirer of hers. However, I would say that I think that Philip Lowe has been an exceptionally well qualified steady hand at the wheel and [during] incredibly difficult economic periods of time.” the Victorian senator told Sky News on Wednesday morning.
“There’s hardly a person in Australia that would be better qualified than Philip Lowe to lead the Reserve Bank. I think that if he wants to extend this term, it’s something that the government should seriously consider.
“It’s definitely the call of the government’s but I think that the idea that they have demonised Philip Lowe is unreasonable, particularly when Philip Lowe has only one tool in the shed, and that is interest rates.”
Mr Lowe has come under intense scrutiny amid a run of interest rate rises. On Tuesday the Reserve Bank kept rates steady at 4.1 per cent as Mr Lowe flagged that the most aggressive policy tightening in decades is moving closer to an end, saying further hikes would depend on “how the economy and inflation evolve” while conceding families were under a “painful squeeze”.
Senator Hume said the government needed to do its best to bring down inflation.
“Unfortunately, though, underlying inflation, core inflation has hardly moved from 6.5 to 6.4. That shows that inflation is still really sticky,” she said.
“And that’s going to be a problem. If inflation is higher for longer than the RBA won’t be able to not just pause on rates but potentially won’t be able to give households any relief for a much longer period of time.”
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