Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said an independent review of the Reserve Bank has made some recommendations that will require changes to the institution’s operating legislation, while adding that he expects to release the report in the next week or so.
(Bloomberg) — Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said an independent review of the Reserve Bank has made some recommendations that will require changes to the institution’s operating legislation, while adding that he expects to release the report in the next week or so.
“What you’ll see when you see the 51 specific recommendations, and you read through the rationale for it, is that there’s a role for government, there’s a role for the Reserve Bank and its board, there’s a role for legislation,” Chalmers told reporters on Monday.
The treasurer said he’s had some discussions with RBA Governor Philip Lowe about the contents of the review and before long he wants to speak to the opposition and possibly the cross bench as well.
“One of the key reasons why I want it to be bipartisan, if we can, is because ideally, we’d get all of those ducks in a row,” he added. “The RBA Act should be something that we can agree on and put beyond politics. That’s my objective. My aspiration.”
Over the weekend, Chalmers told Bloomberg TV in Washington that he was hoping to release the review, which contains some “very wise recommendations,” in the next week or two. He reiterated that timeline on Monday.
“I hope to be able to release the Reserve Bank review quite soon, ideally in the next week but certainly in the next couple of weeks,” he said at a press conference in Canberra.
The review is likely to suggest an overhaul of the RBA’s rate-setting board, fewer policy meetings and for the governor to hold press conferences to explain monetary settings, according to media reports. That follows comments last year from panel member Renée Fry‑McKibbin that the review was looking at whether two boards were required.
While a dual structure is common at a number of central banks, splitting the board would require change to the RBA Act. Chalmers has also said he will take the review’s findings into account when deciding on the future of Lowe, whose seven-year term as governor of the RBA expires in September.
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