Next Reserve Bank hearing in Canberra

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics has tabled the report of its Review of the Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report 2017 (First Report).

The report provides a summary of issues raised at the public hearing with the Reserve Bank in Sydney on 16 February 2018.

The chair of the committee, Sarah Henderson MP, said "evidence at the hearing revealed the strength of Australia’s labour market with 400,000 new jobs created in the past year, three-quarters of which were full-time. Labour force participation is close to its record high in 2011".

During the hearing, the committee examined the RBA on its monetary policy settings given the low levels of inflation in the Australian economy, and the prospects for a pick-up in inflation and wage growth as the economy strengthens.

The RBA forecasts Australia’s GDP growth to further strengthen from 2.75 percent in mid-2018 to be a little over 3 percent over 2018 and 2019. Underlying inflation is expected to rise gradually to around 2.25 percent by 2020.

Ms Henderson commented, "The Australian economy is transitioning successfully out of the mining boom and there is a large pipeline of infrastructure investment currently underway.’ She added ‘these projects are creating new jobs now, while building Australia’s productive capacity for the future."

Public hearing details: 9.30 am, Friday 17 August, Main Committee Room, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live

For information about the inquiry visit the committee’s website. 

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