New RBA deputy governor appointed

The Albanese government has revealed that Andrew Hauser, the executive director for markets at the Bank of England, will take up the role of deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in “early 2024”.

He fills the void left following the promotion of Michele Bullock, who moved from the deputy governor position to become governor in September.

Mr Hauser joined the Bank of England in 1992 and during his time there has worked across most of its major functions, including its “international economic analysis and its intelligence gathering regional agencies”.

Mr Hauser has also served as a member of the executive board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.

Announcing the news on Monday (27 November), Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Mr Hauser “brings international expertise in macro-economics, markets, and central banking operations from his distinguished career spanning over 30 years at the Bank of England”.

He stated: “Mr Hauser comes highly recommended for the position of deputy governor of the Reserve Bank and his appointment will help ensure we have the most effective central bank to meet our current and future economic challenges.

“The government is confident Mr Hauser has the skills and experience required to help the RBA navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain economic environment.”

Ms Bullock welcomed Mr Hauser’s appointment, commenting: “I warmly congratulate Andrew on his appointment as the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank and look forward to working with him.

“He has great experience and will bring a welcome external perspective to the Bank and the Reserve Bank Board.”

Speaking of his appointment, Mr Hauser commented: “I am deeply honoured to be asked to serve as the RBA’s next deputy governor.

“I look forward to working closely with Michele Bullock, her senior team and the talented staff of the RBA to serve the Australian people and to help make a reality of the recommendations of the RBA review.”

RBA reform legislation to be introduced this week

Alongside Mr Hauser’s appointment, Mr Chalmers also revealed that the government will introduce legislation to Parliament this week to “reform, strengthen, and modernise” the RBA.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 is set to be introduced this week to “reinforce the RBA’s independence, clarify its role, and modernise its structure”.

The bill followed several months of consultation after the RBA review findings were released in April this year – putting forward a sweeping range of reforms.

At the time, the government stated that it had agreed in principle with the review’s 51 recommendations, with Mr Chalmers confirming that legislation would be introduced by the end of the year.

The Treasurer has now revealed that the bill will:

• Mandate that the RBA’s overarching objective is to ‘promote the economic prosperity and welfare of the people of Australia, both now and into the future’.
• Confirm that monetary policy should have dual objectives of price stability and contributing to full employment.
• Reinforce the RBA’s independence, including by repealing the power of the Treasurer to overrule its monetary policy decisions.
• Establish a Monetary Policy Board and a separate Governance Board.
• Clarify the RBA’s responsibility to contribute to financial system stability.

Mr Chalmers stated: “The RBA Review’s remaining recommendations are being implemented administratively by the government and the Reserve Bank, including through a new statement on the conduct of monetary policy that we aim to finalise next month.

“These changes are part of the Albanese government’s broader efforts to reform, renew, and refocus the nation’s key economic institutions so that they can help meet current and future challenges.

“We want to ensure Australia’s central bank remains world-class with a monetary policy framework fit to meet our current and future economic challenges.”

The Treasurer added that the legislation will also establish “robust governance arrangements for the RBA”.

Other recommendations that the review put forward included that the government and RBA Monetary Policy Board should instigate a formal review of the monetary policy framework and tools every five years and that the government should remove the RBA’s power to direct commercial banks’ lending as it is not necessary for the RBA to achieve its core mandate.

The RBA agreed to implement 10 recommendations from the review, which included reducing the number of times the board meets each year from 11 to eight, earlier this year.

The 2024 Reserve Bank board meetings are as follows:

• 5–6 February
• 18–19 March
• 6–7 May
• 17–18 June
• 5–6 August
• 23–24 September
• 4–5 November
• 9–10 December

[Related: RBA review to be implemented end of 2023: Treasury]