Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today. These hearings are an important part of the accountability process for the Reserve Bank of Australia. As usual, my colleagues and I will do our best to answer your questions. Since we last met, the Australian economy has continued to move in the right direction. According to the most recent data, GDP growth is 3.1 per cent, inflation is around 2 per cent and the unemployment rate is now below 5½ per cent. In the broad sweep of our economic history, these are a pretty good set of numbers. We would, of course, like them to be better – we are still ... (full story)