RBA interest rates: Reserve Bank lifts official rate to 3.35% in record ninth consecutive hike to tame inflation
GuardianNov 26, 2022
The Facts
Michele Bullock has been announced as the next head of the Reserve Bank of Australia, becoming the first woman to take charge of the country's central bank.
Bullock, who is currently deputy governor of the bank, will replace Philip Lowe — who will consequently become the first governor in nearly three decades whose term the government has chosen not to extend.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Bullock has the potential to provide both continuity and change at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Already with four decades of experience at the central bank, Bullock has broken the glass ceiling at a time when the current monetary cycle of tightening is expected to be ending. Bullock has the potential to both provide stability at a time of economic uncertainty, as well as to provide reform at a time of encouraging signs for the world's developed economies.
Establishment-critical narrative
Phillip Lowe has become the fall guy for both Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, despite taking similar policy measures to many other global central bank governors. The reality is that many of the requirements to rejuvenate Australia's economy must stem from a correction of mistakes not from the central bank, but the government. This context must be applied to the news of Bullock's historic appointment.
