1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,680 Speaker 1: So Adrianaor's departure seemingly coming out of nowhere. He is 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:04,840 Speaker 1: halfway through a second term, years to go on the contract, 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: and he's gone for more Reserve Bank senior staff for 4 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 1: Jeff Mortloguxe. But it's Jeff, very good morning to you. 5 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, morning, Mike, as he pecked as said he 6 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 2: appears to have and with no apparent reason for it 7 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 2: and no explanation. 8 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: Could we read into it that the funding debate between 9 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: the government and the Board at the moment might have 10 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: something to do with it. 11 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 2: Well, look, that would be a reasonable interpretation. I think 12 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 2: the understanding I have is that there have been tensions 13 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 2: between the Reserve Bank and the Minister over the funding 14 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 2: negotiations and that wouldn't surprise me given how much the 15 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 2: budget has increased, just how much they have been spending 16 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 2: in the last seven years under Asian all. 17 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: Exactly why have they needed or wanted so much more 18 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: money and what have they spent it on into end? 19 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 2: Well, look, some of it was probably reasonable in the 20 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 2: sense that they have been upgrading the banking supervision area 21 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: from a very low level of staffing to a more 22 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 2: reasonable level. Some of it is gearing up for the 23 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 2: deposit insurance scheme, so that I can understand. But the 24 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 2: where it gets strange is they are the increased staffing 25 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 2: dramatically in the pr area to an astronomical level. A 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 2: lot of it seems to have gone into some of 27 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 2: the nefarious projects, some of their cultural projects and so forth. 28 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 2: And when you look at the staffing levels dramatically increased, 29 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,919 Speaker 2: was he just building a flight wing? Wrong? Sorry? 30 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: Was he just building a fivedom? Well? 31 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 2: I think that the setting an element of that. He 32 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 2: was wanting, I think to increase his loud speaker so 33 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 2: that he could involve the Reserve Bank in the kind 34 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 2: of issues that he wanted to see it more proactive in. 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 2: And some of those issues were not even ones that 36 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 2: were really part of the Reserve Bank's core mandate. 37 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: Given what happened yesterday, literally in the fact he let 38 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: the building know and could explain it properly, do they 39 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: owe us an explanation or is. 40 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 2: That just life now? I think they do. I mean, 41 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:37,119 Speaker 2: he was governor of the Reserve Bank. It's a key role, 42 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 2: and I think that when the chief executive of a 43 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 2: major public institution resigns there should be an explanation. And 44 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 2: I think if it doesn't come from the resigning governor 45 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 2: in a formal statement, then it should come from the 46 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 2: chairman of the board. And yesterday we had yet another 47 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 2: demonstration of evasive explanations from the German Neil quickly. 48 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: In simple terms, where's he said? Hopeless worst moderate? 49 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 2: I was thinking that, going through all of the governors 50 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 2: since nineteen thirty four, I would rank him as the 51 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 2: worst in terms of competence, based really on the monetary 52 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 2: policy results. You look at the inflation burst, and some 53 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 2: of that was external, but some of it was definitely 54 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 2: a function of monetary policy actions. He's left taxpayers with 55 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 2: over ten billion dollars of debt that could have gone 56 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 2: into the public health system and other such things. He's 57 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 2: nearly doubled the staff numbers of the Reserve Bank, and 58 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 2: he's jacked up bank capital ratios to levels that I 59 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 2: think are going to make it more difficult for the 60 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 2: economy to actually start growing again. 61 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: Well, so, Jeff, appreciate it. Jeff Motlock, I used to 62 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: work at the Reserve Bank. 63 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 64 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 2: news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow 65 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.