Michele Bullock the standout: ‘historic and excellent RBA appointment’

Australia will enter a new economic era, with the RBA to be led by a trailblazer as the nation’s monetary foundation is remade.

Michele Bullock, the new Reserve Bank of Australia Governor at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Australia will enter a new economic era, with its central bank to be led by a trailblazer as the nation’s monetary foundation is chiselled, hammered and remade.

Michele Bullock will be the Reserve Bank’s ninth governor, and the first woman to lead the 63-year old institution, after serving as a board member and Philip Lowe’s understudy since April last year.

The Albanese government has made a historic and excellent appointment; it sampled the world’s talent pool but there were half a dozen local candidates, at least, who were eminent in the field: credible among financial market participants, the political class, and ultimately, the borrowing and saving public.

Bullock was the standout.

In a near four-decade career as an accomplished central banker, Bullock is respected as a leader, research economist, a hands-on manager and a no-nonsense communicator.

Jim Chalmers said Bullock has the compelling mix of “gravitas” and EQ required to reshape the bank and inspire its high performance staff.

She ticked all the key boxes, not least of which was the firm view that she represented both continuity during a time of tumult and displayed a positive attitude to the makeover the institution is about to experience.

Bullock’s career

The RBA review sketched out a range of incremental changes – to the bank’s mission, processes, culture, communications, inflation targeting, rate-setting board, oversight and independence – that taken together will lead to a more accountable, modern and responsive institution if the transition is properly executed.

Bullock is understated, diligent, smart and serious, like almost every top central banker, and her public profile is about to soar, as will the intensity of the scrutiny.

After a dozen interest-rate rises since May last year, squeezing household finances and causing a sharp slowdown in consumer spending, there is a rising community backlash for the RBA’s aggressive inflation-busting approach.

Lowe has rightly borne the brunt of it; that comes with the job, of course, but the outgoing RBA chief contributed to the response by providing what came to be flawed, risky forward guidance about maintaining the cash rate target at 0.1 per cent until 2024 at the earliest.

Yet much of the response has been unfair, over the top and, frankly, ugly.

He is a class act and it will be surprising if he does not find a way to keep serving the nation with distinction, to help to improve the welfare of all citizens

Drawing a line under the Lowe years, though, will only give the Albanese government a little more respite from the blame for the coming economic fallout.

Our elected representatives ultimately seek the big levers and hog the airwaves and face the consequences.