The Reserve Bank might have simply raised rates of interest for the tenth time, however the governor has declined to say whether or not the hikes have hit his personal hip pocket.
Philip Lowe is without doubt one of the nation’s highest paid bureaucrats, taking dwelling a bundle price $1,076,029 paid for by the taxpayers.
Speaking a day after the board lifted charges to a decade-high 3.6 per cent, Dr Lowe was requested if his personal spending habits had modified.
“You acknowledged in your speech the effects of high interest rates are felt unevenly across the community … The question many people are asking though is: What about the top end of town?” a Network Ten reporter requested.
“To illustrate that point, in a cheeky way I suppose, have you personally felt the need to rein in your spending in recent months.”
The million-dollar-a-year man laughed off the query however acknowledged individuals who have been feeling the brunt have been these on the decrease finish of the earnings scale.
“I’m just one person in 26 million. So, my personal, um, circumstances, aren’t going to affect the aggregate, are they?” Dr Lowe stated in response.
“It’s difficult because monetary policy is falling unevenly across the community and the people who have been most affected are people who have borrowed in recent times and having to pay a higher mortgage payment.”
But Dr Lowe warned that issues would solely be worse if the board hadn’t raised charges so aggressively.
“Just imagine if we had not raised rates. Where do you think the exchange rate would be? You’d have more inflation,” Dr Lowe added.
“The higher interest rates do encourage people to save a bit.
“I know it’s tough.”
Dr Lowe has confronted an onslaught of private criticism for saying the money fee would keep at file lows till 2024.
In current appearances earlier than two parliamentary committees, the governor repeatedly reminded MPs the aggressive fee hike cycle was a choice for the complete board, not simply him.
In an interview on Perth radio, Anthony Albanese defended the “poor” Dr Lowe.
“He and his board, to be fair, I wouldn’t put it all on poor Phil Lowe – ‘it’s not just me, it’s a board,” the Prime Minister stated.
“There’s a board and they make decisions, and they do need to control inflation, but it’s an independent decision that they make.
“Interest rates started to increase under the former government before the election, and the RBA said before the election that there would be a range of increases.
“The words that were used yesterday are better than they have been previously.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
