The Australian’s Australian of the Year: RBA governor Michele Bullock’s historic task

Michele Bullock became the first woman to helm the Reserve Bank in the middle of a desperate battle to tame the most severe ­inflation outbreak the country has seen in a generation.

RBA governor Michele Bullock. Picture: Bloomberg

Michele Bullock became the first woman to helm the Reserve Bank in the middle of a desperate battle to tame the most severe ­inflation outbreak the country has seen in a generation.

Ascending to the governorship through the tatters of her predecessor’s public standing, she must now complete the difficult task of steering the economy out of the inflationary woods, while also overseeing a sweeping overhaul of the bank’s culture, operations and governance.

In other words, it is a truly incredible time for the plain-spoken, self-described “country girl” from Armidale, NSW, to be in charge of the nation’s pre-eminent independent economic institution, making her a nominee for The Australian’s Australian of the Year.

Ms Bullock’s final ascent to the peak of monetary policymaking has been as rapid as the rise in interest rates, going from assistant governor to deputy governor in April 2022, before taking the top job in September last year.

The extra scrutiny, and sometimes vitriol, that comes with the role of governor can be intense.

As Bullock stepped up to deliver her first speech at the ANU following the news of her appointment, student activists staged a protest calling for her to be sacked. But she has looked at home in the top job from day one, exuding a confidence and command that has impressed.

She showed the steel from a working lifetime at the central bank to hike rates again on Melbourne Cup day at only her second meeting in charge.

Inflation is tracking lower, but will only be back inside the RBA’s 2-3 per cent target range in two years’ time. No wonder, then, that Ms Bullock has warned there may yet be more work to do, and a February rate hike looms as a real possibility, further testing the new governor’s relationship with a government that has seen its popularity plummet.

Crushing inflation is the priority, but last year’s sweeping RBA review made it clear that there was a need for a cultural overhaul at the central bank, and Ms Bullock has passionately embraced this task.

We encourage our readers to put in a nomination for The Australian’s Australian of the Year, which was first won in 1971 by economist HC “Nugget” Coombs. Prominent Australians can be nominated by filling out the form above, or sending an email to [e-mail]. Nominations close on Friday, January 19.