| No. |
Member |
Question |
Hansard page
and Hearing date or
Written questions |
Response
(Publication date)
|
| RBA01QW |
van Manen |
The RBA has previously acknowledged that there is a lag between when monetary policy decisions are made and when the impacts of those decisions begin to be seen. Can the RBA please advise the following:
a. The timing of when the impacts occur and if the RBA does not know this why not?
b. What the quantitative impacts are and whether they are positive or negative for the economy?
c. What are the distributional impacts, who are the winners and losers, and what is the net impact on the economy? |
Written
|
Responses to
questions 1 – 7
(5 April 2023)
(PDF198KB) |
RBA02QW
|
van Manen
|
In the RBA's view is the current rate of inflation accelerating or decelerating?
|
Written
|
|
RBA03QW
|
van Manen
|
At the 17 February 2023 hearing with the committee, the RBA said that Australia is approaching or has reached full employment. This assumes those currently unemployed
(3.7%) or underemployed (6.9%) have chosen to be so:
a. How does the RBA know this to be the case?
b. Is it reasonable to assume that a significant number of these people are actually involuntarily unemployed or underemployed for reasons including (but not limited to) lack of training, skills, access etc?
c. If so, which is the better tool to assist them obtain the employment - fiscal or monetary policy?
|
Written
|
|
RBA04QW
|
van Manen
|
Australia is now seeing a return to migration and we know this will assist in starting to fill job vacancies. What, if any, impact will this have on wage price growth?
|
Written
|
|
RBA05QW
|
van Manen
|
What in the RBA's view is the tipping point for wage growth to become a wage price spiral, given significant supply side-driven price inflation over the past 18 months?
|
Written
|
|
RBA06QW
|
van Manen
|
Whilst the RBA has explained that the term funding facility (TFF) was at a fixed rate, could you not offset a bank's liability to their exchange settlement accounts (ESA)? For example if Bank A has a TFF of $100bn and an ESA of $200bn then they would only get paid interest on the difference between the 2 balances, i.e. $100bn at the applicable rate.
a. If not, why not?
b. Wouldn’t the above solution ensure that banks are not getting a free ride at the expense of taxpayers?
|
Written
|
|
RBA07QW
|
van Manen
|
In Governor Lowe's statement accompanying the latest rate rise on 7 February 2023, he said the following: 'Inflation is expected to decline this year…medium-term inflation expectations remain well-anchored, and it is important this remains the case'.
If this is truly the case and given that as of December 2022 the medium term (5 year) rolling average for inflation was 2.7% within the 2-3% average outlined in the RBA Corporate Plan, why are interest rates continuing to increase?
|
Written
|
|
RBA08QON
|
Rae |
Can you take on notice and come back to us with some clear insights around the relationship between gross unit labour costs now and pre-pandemic levels please?
|
Hansard p. 9
11 August 2023
|
Responses to
questions 8- 10
(13 November 2024)
(PDF115KB)
|
RBA09QON
|
Charlton |
Can you give us an example of an RBA research discussion paper that expressed views that were not necessarily those of the RBA?
|
Hansard p. 19
11 August 2023
|
|
RBA10QON
|
Laxale |
What are the pay scales for your labour-hire staff?
|
Hansard p. 21
11 August 2023
|
|
RBA11QW
|
Laxale |
During the hearing, the RBA said that they were going to bring forward payment surcharging reform.
Could you please provide details about that work?
When will the consultation start and end?
How will there be consultation? Public hearings? Submissions?
|
Written |
(13 November 2024)
(PDF81KB) |
RBA12QW
|
Rae |
Question 1
The RBA’s trimmed mean inflation forecast of 2.7% assumes at least two further rate cuts this year and another next year, based on market expectations embedded in the forecasting model. However, during the Governor’s press conference after the decision to cut the cash rate at the February meeting, she suggested that additional rate cuts may not occur, saying that the board believes “the market may be overly optimistic” and that they “need more evidence that inflation continues to decline before considering further cuts.”
1.1 Given that the RBA acknowledges the current cash rate remains restrictive and has also revised down its forecast for household consumption growth, could you clarify why the RBA’s public guidance appears to diverge from the assumptions underpinning its own forecasts which show trimmed mean inflation settling very close to the mid-point of target band?
1.2 Specifically, how does the Board reconcile signalling a more cautious stance on future rate cuts while maintaining forecasts that rely on these market-based assumptions for further cuts, and show inflation reaching the target band?
1.3 If the further rate cuts that are currently embedded in the forecasts were instead excluded and the cash rate held at 4.1%, what would the RBA project for trimmed mean inflation?
1.4 The board’s cautious stance on future rate cuts mitigates some upside risk from the forecast scenario. How is the board mitigating downside risk?
1.5 Does the board’s over cautiousness on upside risk increase the likelihood of downside risk and over restricting the economy?
Question 2
The RBA’s Statement on Monetary Policy repeatedly cites unit labour costs as an upside risk to inflation. However, ABS data indicates that real unit labour costs are currently at, or even marginally below, pre-pandemic levels – a period when inflation was low and stable.
2.1 Given this, how does the RBA justify its continued emphasis on unit labour costs as a key inflationary risk?
2.2 If real unit labour costs are consistent with their pre-pandemic levels when inflation was low, does this suggest that the remaining inflationary pressures are being driven more by supply-side constraints or other structural factors, rather than wage growth or a "tight labour market"?
2.3 In this context, how does the RBA assess the relative contribution of labour costs compared to other drivers of inflation when setting monetary policy?
2.4 How does the RBA consider other multifactor productivity inputs when assessing the productivity outlook and its relevance to monetary policy decisions?
|
Written |
(18 March 2025)
(PDF60KB)
|