Treasurer Jim Chalmers has batted away former RBA governor Philip Lowe\u2019s commentary on government spending.<\/p>\n
In an interview\u00a0with The Australian Financial Review, Lowe criticised the federal government\u2019s willingness to provide handouts, saying it would drive up interest rates (AFR<\/a>).<\/p>\n Lowe said\u00a0the government \u201cwants to keep offering people handouts, which adds to demand, which in the normal course of events would be fine. But if the supply is not growing, you can\u2019t do it and if you try to do it, then interest rates have to go up\u201d (The Age<\/a>).<\/p>\n Chalmers dismissed Lowe\u2019s criticism,\u00a0saying, \u201cPhil Lowe would have liked to have been reappointed by the government. After he wasn’t reappointed he\u2019s become a fairly persistent critic of the Labor government\u201d (ABC<\/a>).<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0newly-minted shadow treasurer Tim Wilson has called for changes to the way the nation deals with inflation, suggesting a rethink on the RBA\u2019s mandate (The Age<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n