Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - In addition to updating its economic projections to take into account quicker inflation and rising intere...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - In addition to updating its economic projections to take into account quicker inflation and rising interest rates, Australia's newly elected Labor government is getting closer to finalising the specifics of an independent investigation into the nation's central bank.
Jim Chalmers, the treasurer, told reporters on Monday that he will present the updated data to parliament on July 28 and warned that the economic situation would be "confronting" in light of the growing national debt and the rising cost of borrowing.
He declared that the current state of the global economy was challenging, if not dangerous. "That confluence of rising food and energy prices, decreasing growth, and rising interest rates.
"I'll be giving a range of economic forecasts and a summary of what that means for the budget situation as well," the speaker said.
The first quarter saw inflation reach a 20-year high of 5.1 percent, and data due next week is anticipated to reveal that it increased past 6 percent in the second quarter, driven by soaring prices for gasoline, food, housing, and healthcare.
In response, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has increased interest rates three months in a row, bringing them to 1.35 percent. Another increase is anticipated in August.
According to Chalmers, inflation is expected to worsen before improving, which means the RBA will keep raising rates.
The central bank's priorities and operations will be thoroughly reviewed by the government, which ousted the Liberal National coalition parties in a May election. This examination will include how the central bank handled emergency policy stimulus during the pandemic.
Chalmers has also said he wants the RBA's policy-making Board to be more representative of the population of Australia. The Secretary of the Treasury, the RBA Governor, and six non-executive members who often come from business and academia make up the Board at the moment.
