Treasury aims to fill RBA deputy governor spot ‘swiftly’

Following on from the announcement that the current deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Michele Bullock, will take over as the governor of the central bank in September, the Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP has said the government aims to appoint her successor ‘as soon as we can’.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the Treasurer was asked about the search for the new deputy governor to fill the role once Ms Bullock moves into her new role on 18 September.

Mr Chalmers responded that he was “considering” the appointment “right now” and has had conversations with Ms Bullock, governor Philip Lowe as well as his “Treasury colleagues and others” to discuss the successor.

“We’d like to fill that deputy governor spot as soon as we can. We’re not in a rush to do it, but we’d love to do it relatively swiftly,” he said.

According to the Treasurer, the ideal situation would be to have the deputy governor spot filled in a similar time frame to Ms Bullock taking over as governor (in the middle of September).

When asked how the search was being undertaken (and if there were any short-listed candidates), he stated: “We will look overseas, we will look internally, we will look around Australia, and we’ll find the best person. The best person in their own right but also the best set of skills to complement the new governor as she takes up her role.”

In addition, the Treasurer said it would also look to find a new assistant governor (economic) after Luci Ellis vacates the position in October to join a big four bank.

Ms Ellis is set to become Westpac Group’s chief economist from 9 October 2023.

Mr Chalmers said: “We’ve got an opportunity for renewal in the deputy governor spot and the assistant governor spot at the same time and I think that’s a good combination, too.”

While he said there was no shortlist of candidates yet, he added: “I have some ideas in my mind and people have no shortage of ideas.

“There’s a number of wonderful people, frankly, that we’ll consider for both – in my case for deputy governor, in the bank’s case for assistant governor. Some good well‑qualified people, but there’s not a formal shortlist yet, there will be before long.”

Mr Chalmers also took the opportunity to “pay tribute” to outgoing governor Lowe who finishes up in September after seven years at the helm.

“He’s here making an important contribution to these discussions. And so he goes with the government’s respect and gratitude and he goes with dignity,” he said.

The Treasurer noted that Ms Bullock’s first task as RBA governor would be to “lead an organisation dedicated to this inflation fight” while working to “reform and renovate” the Reserve Bank as per the RBA review.

Treasurer Chalmers said: “The Reserve Bank has served us well for a long period of time in Australia. We did the Reserve Bank review to take it forward into the future and we very deliberately chose Michele Bullock as the person best placed to implement the recommendations…

“Michele Bullock is a very effective communicator, a very clear, blunt speaker and I think that will serve her well as well. But really Michele Bullock represents the best combination of experience and expertise, an outstanding economist but also a really well‑regarded and well‑respected leader and we’ll need that leadership as we reform the Reserve Bank and one of the ways we reform it is to make sure its communication is as clear as possible.”

[Related: New RBA governor announced]