Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the Australian Business Economists dinner last week, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Dr Philip Lowe, delivered a speech that officially declared 'unconventional monetary policy was highly unlikely in Australia'. What worries One Nation is that, in the Q&A after his speech, Dr Lowe changed his position and declared: 'If the economic indicators were moving away from the target, I think all options would need to be put on the table.' These options are called 'unconventional monetary policy'. That benign name masks a world of pain for everyday Australians.

The RBA's program would commence with the official interest rate reaching 0.25 per cent. The official interest rate is currently 0.75 per cent and is tipped to fall. We are likely to reach the RBA's trigger point in this term of government. Unconventional monetary policy includes bank bail-ins, where customer deposits are turned into shares in the bank. It includes negative interest rates, where people pay the bank to use their money. It includes quantitative easing, where money is printed and used to pump up the economy.

All of these things only work if people are no longer allowed to keep their money in cash. Cash prevents unconventional monetary policy from working. Suddenly, the Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill takes on a new significance. Is the government planning to introduce these measures or not? The Morrison government must guarantee the Australian people that they will never seek bank bail-ins and negative interest rates in this country. The Morrison government must also drop the cash ban legislation to stop demonising people who choose to use cash.