Speech Summary Dinner Remarks to A50 Australian Economic Forum
The speech describes Australia as a country whose economy is resilient and flexible, with a track record of adjusting to a changing world. It attributes the nation's prosperity in part to open trade in goods and services and the relatively free movement in capital. The speech suggests that Australia is a good example of how a medium-sized country with a floating exchange rate, a largely open capital account and a dynamic and innovative financial sector can prosper in today's volatile world.
The speech also acknowledges some challenges including reinvigorating productivity growth and rebuilding fiscal buffers. The speech also shines a spotlight on the need to best capitalise on the opportunities offered by Asia's economic development and the importance of providing adequate high-quality infrastructure.
On the near-term outlook for Australia, the speech notes that the economy is in reasonable shape and highlights the end of a mining investment downturn. It also acknowledges that while inflation remains low, it is not expected to fall further. The speech outlines the Bank's concerns about the complex picture in the housing and labour markets, as well as the relatively high level of household debt. It emphasises the need to continue to build resilience and concludes that the central scenario is for some pick-up in economic growth and for inflation to move gradually higher.