Pedestrians walk past the Reserve Bank of Australia building in central Sydney. — Reuters
SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank is leaning towards publishing unattributed votes from its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) only when there is no consensus, with a formal decision on the issue set to be made at the July board meeting.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Michele Bullock and Treasurer Jim Chalmers met last Wednesday in Sydney to discuss the remaining changes under the planned reforms of the central bank, according to a statement from the Treasury.
They discussed a recommendation from an independent RBA review in 2023 to publish an unattributed record of votes in the post-meeting statements.
“The disposition of both the government and the RBA is to implement this recommendation so that where consensus has not been achieved, an unattributed record of votes will be published.”
“A final decision on implementation of this recommendation will be considered by the board as part of its broader consideration of the statement at its next meeting on July 7 and 8.”
The MPC consists of six external members appointed by the treasurer and three ‘ex-officio’ members comprising the RBA governor, deputy governor and treasury secretary.
The RBA has already implemented most of the recommendations from the review, including splitting the board in two, with one group dedicated to monetary policy and the other focusing on operations. — Reuters
