House Standing Committee on Economics
17 September 2026
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House Standing Committee on Economics Australian Parliament
15:05 - 17:43
Speaker 1
Good morning. I declare open this hearing of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics for the review of the Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report 2023. I want to begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples who are the traditional custodians of the lands on which we meet today and pay our respects to elders past and present. And I also extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today.
I welcome representatives of the Reserve Bank of Australia, as well as members of the public and media in the room and those watching online. The hearing comes at a consequential time for the Australian and world economies. Our economy has continued to grow in difficult global circumstances. The latest national accounts show real GDP increased by 0.4% in the June quarter and 2.1% over the year, with growth increasingly supported by private demand. While unemployment remains low by historical standards at 4.5%, real wages grew by 0.2% in the quarter but fell 0.8% in unrounded through-the-year terms.
Even with those figures, annual real wages have grown for eight of the last 11 quarters. Notably, the challenges confronting Australia are the same challenges confronting economies world over, including productivity growth, the impact of rising global bond yields, and the effect of geopolitical instability. The RBA has increased the cash rate by 75 basis points during 2026, taking it to 4.35% and held the rate unchanged in August. The conflict in the Middle East has imposed a serious human toll and remains a major inflationary pressure. Disruptions to energy production and shipping have generated substantial volatility in oil, gas, other commodity prices, with higher costs flowing into transport, production, consumer prices.
Yesterday, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023. The European Central Bank raised rates last week. The Treasurer has pointed out this week that the market is now pricing in an interest rate hike in every single major advanced economy. Australia's gross debt as a share of our economy is much less than half of the US, less than half of Canada and the UK, less than a quarter of the gross debt to GDP in Japan. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence presents Australia with pathways to lift productivity, business investment, and living standards.
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