New Reserve Bank boss revealed: Australia’s first female central banker is revealed by Anthony Albanese as Philip Lowe loses his job
- Philip Lowe’s term ending on September 17
Philip Lowe has been replaced as Reserve Bank governor by a woman after he raised interest rates 12 times in little more than a year.
Michele Bullock his deputy is his replacement, making her Australia’s first-ever female RBA governor when she starts on September 18.
Treasurer Jim Chalmer’s decision not to extend Dr Lowe’s seven-year term beyond September 17 means Dr Lowe is now Australia’s shortest-serving RBA chief in almost three decades.
Under his watch, interest rates have gone up 12 times since May 2022, even though he suggested in 2021 they would stay on hold at a record-low of 0.1 per cent until 2024 ‘at the earliest’.
Dr Lowe was also the first RBA chief since 1991 to be in charge during a recession, as a result of the 2020 Covid lockdowns that also led to deflation.
Philip Lowe has been replaced as Reserve Bank governor after he raised interest rates 12 times in little more than a year. Michele Bullock his deputy is his replacement, making her Australia’s first-ever female RBA governor when she starts on September 18.
But by the end of 2021, inflation breached the RBA’s two to three per cent target and kept climbing in 2022 after Russia’s Ukraine invasion led to sanctions which pushed up global crude oil prices.
Inflation hit a 32-year high of 7.8 per cent at the end of last year but has since moderated, with the Reserve Bank expecting inflation to stay high until mid-2025.
Economists fear the Reserve Bank’s 12 rate rises in just 13 months could spark a recession, repeating the experience of 1989 when tighter monetary policy caused a downturn in 1991.
