Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

On brief indulgence, Mr Speaker, can I firstly acknowledge the service of Glenn Stevens as Governor of the Reserve Bank. When you think of the 10 years of service of Governor Stevens, it was a very tumultuous 10 years in the Australian economy through the highs of the mining boom, through the global financial crisis and through the recovery. The Reserve Bank is a vital national economic institution and Governor Stevens has led it very well for 10 years. He is in the front rank of central bank governors around the world, and I know the member for Lilley joins with me in wishing Governor Stevens the best.

I also welcome the appointment of Dr Lowe as Governor of the Reserve Bank. Dr Lowe is one of the finest Australian economists of his generation. He joined the Reserve Bank in 1980 and has only interrupted his service for his doctoral studies at MIT and a secondment to the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland. As the Treasurer knows, I have previously expressed a view that in this period the Treasurer should be consulting the opposition, but, if he had consulted on this measure, I would have supported the appointment of Dr Lowe as an appropriate one and one which is in the best interests of the bank.

I also want to pay tribute to Dr John Edwards for his service. He has been a very fine servant of our nation. He joined TheAustralian Financial Review in 1970 and has worked in both the public and private sectors. He has a claim for his contribution to the Australian economy over the last 40 or so years—it has been a very substantial one—and I know that Dr Edwards will serve the Australian economy in different ways into the future. I will say that I do believe Dr Edwards would have been very suitably qualified for appointment to a second term. I do believe that he would have been very suitably qualified to continue his service to the Reserve Bank. I note that that is not the decision that has been taken, but I believe that a second term would have been entirely appropriate given Dr Edwards's long and meritorious service and his outstanding knowledge of the Australian economy. I do, however, also acknowledge Professor Ian Harper's appointment to the board and wish him well.

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