Australia news LIVE: RBA signals further interest rate rise as inflation rises to 4.3 per cent; Nearly 800 threats against MPs in six months, AFP says, as Labor bolsters safety after Haines attack

RBA governor Michele Bullock is responding to questions from Liberal deputy leader Jane Hume about the government’s role in tackling inflation.

“Government spending – federal and state, I have to say here, not just federal – all contributes to aggregate demand in some way, whether it be through infrastructure projects, services they have to provide, and so on,” Bullock said.

“And to the extent that aggregate demand is above aggregate supply, it contributes to that excess demand.

“Now, as I have also said repeatedly, monetary policy is independent, and fiscal policy is a matter for the parliament and the government. It is not for the central bank to tell the government what to do with their spending, and particularly, how to direct their spending.”

Bullock also rejected the unfavourable comparison of Australia’s inflation rates to other countries because its target was higher.