Treasury officials have indicated that Australia’s economy is currently moving in the right direction, raising the possibility of a future budget surplus. Appearing at a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy said inflation was on track to fall to 2.75 per cent next year with “no evidenceContinue Reading
A Labor frontbencher has locked horns with a Liberal senator after it was revealed changes to the federal government’s stage 3 tax cuts were the “only option” to relieve struggling households. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was interrogated by opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume during a heated cost-of-living inquiry on Friday.Continue Reading
The Treasurer did not ask public servants to overhaul the stage 3 tax cuts, rather the department came up with the idea, an inquiry into cost-of-living has been told. Senior public servants from the departments of Treasury and finance were on Monday grilled over the timeline of the Albanese government’sContinue Reading
Labor should not replace Philip Lowe with anyone closely linked to the government and risk the “sacrosanctity” of the position, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has warned. The Reserve Bank governor’s term is up in September, and while it could be extended for another three years, it’s widely expected that TreasurerContinue Reading
The Reserve Bank will cut the amount of times it meets in a year to set interest rates but make the meetings longer, as the central bank begins the process of implementing recommendations of a wide-ranging review. From 2024, the board will meet eight times a year, rather than 11,Continue Reading
RBA Governor Philip Lowe is set to deliver his last speech today before finding out whether he will be replaced in a huge shake up. The central banker who infamously predicted interest rates would not go up until 2024 will outline the RBA’s official response today to a major reviewContinue Reading
A senior Liberal has said the government should give “poor old” Philip Lowe another chance amid fevered speculation his replacement could be named within weeks. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is expected to make a call on the fate of the embattled Reserve Bank governor, whose term expires in September, this month.Continue Reading
The opposition’s finance spokesperson says the government has “demonised” Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe, and says it would be a “real shame” if he was axed. A day after the central bank left the cash rate on hold for only the second time since last May, Jane Hume praised DrContinue Reading
This week, The AFR View published an editorial claiming “Australia’s housing affordability crisis is due to the supply side, stupid”. That, it claimed, is the lesson policymakers must learn, according to research from former Reserve Bank economist Tony Richards, published in the paper. The tenet of Mr Richards’ argument wasContinue Reading
Secret emails at the heart of a scandal engulfing consultancy firm PwC have been read out during a Senate Estimates hearing. Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill on Tuesday read what she described as the “famous last words” of PwC Australia partner Peter Collins — who is alleged to have shared confidentialContinue Reading