Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the successor for Philip Lowe at the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Following a meeting with Cabinet, Albanese has now confirmed deputy RBA governor, Michele Bullock, as the successor.
She will be the first female governor of the RBA and will take up the role from 18 September with a new deputy governor being appointed in due course.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers noted she will now be involved in implementing the changes to the bank following its independent review.
He said: “Michele Bullock has made it very clear to us that part of her role is to make sure that we can implement, in the best possible way, the recommendations of the Reserve Bank Review. We’ve had a number of conversations about that and I know that [she] is committed to the review process, as am I.
“She brings that experience and expertise but also that heft and gravitas which will actually be a really important asset when it comes to a relationship with the various RBA boards and in implementing the review. She has the best combination of attributes to help us do that.”
Commenting on the appointment, Lowe said: “The Treasurer has made a first-rate appointment. I congratulate Michele on being appointed Governor. The Reserve Bank is in very good hands as it deals with the current inflation challenge and implementing the recommendations of the Review of the RBA. I wish Michele all the best.”
Bullock said: “I am deeply honoured to have been appointed to this important position. It is a challenging time to be coming into this role, but I will be supported by a strong executive team and boards. I am committed to ensuring that the Reserve Bank delivers on its policy and operational objectives for the benefit of the Australian people.”
Other possible candidates in the frame had included Finance Department secretary Jenny Wilkinson and Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy.
Former deputy governor, Guy Debelle, had previously been expected to be the natural successor to Lowe but he left the RBA to take up a chief financial officer role at Fortescue Metals Group which he then left in November 2022 for health reasons after suffering a bicycle accident.
Lowe has faced criticism this year over his insistence to raise interest rates with rates having lifted from 0.1 per cent to 4.1 per cent since last year.
This is in an effort to control inflation which was 5.6 per cent in the year to May and rose as high as 7 per cent last year. The RBA’s target inflation range is 2-3 per cent.
He had also stated that rates would not rise until at least 2024 which turned out to be incorrect.
