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The Reserve Bank chief subtly mocks his academic credentials as his misleading advice that interest rates would not rise until 2024 is criticized.
- Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe’s PhD credentials downplayed by MPs
- Hansard and the parliamentary report refer to him as a ‘sir’ even though he has a PhD
- Labor MPs with PhDs Daniel Mulino, Andrew Charlton known as ‘Dr’
- Parliamentary report criticized Lowe’s promise that rates would remain stable until 2024
The Reserve Bank chief’s academic qualifications have been downplayed as lawmakers criticized Philip Lowe’s wildly inaccurate promise last year to hold interest rates until 2024.
The Governor has been referred to by the House Economics Committee as ‘Sr’ instead of the honorific ‘Dr’, despite the fact that he has a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.
Members of Parliament on the committee, however, who have PhDs in economics are referred to by the title of Dr. Most Esteemed in a Hansard transcript and a new parliamentary report.
Dr Daniel Mulino, who has a PhD in Economics from Yale University in the United States, receives an honorary doctorate as does Dr Andrew Charlton, Labor MP for Parramatta who has a PhD in Economics from Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
AMP Capital’s chief economist, Dr Shane Oliver, who has a PhD from Macquarie University, is also named as a doctor in a new parliamentary report.
“The committee extends its thanks to Dr. Oliver for his help,” he said.
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The Reserve Bank chief’s academic credentials have been downplayed when lawmakers criticized Philip Lowe’s inaccurate promise last year to keep interest rates on hold until 2024 (he is pictured in November wearing a name tag that refers to an honorific of ‘Lord’)
The House committee on Thursday issued a scathing assessment of the Reserve Bank’s suggestion in 2021 that interest rates would remain unchanged until 2024 “at the earliest.”
“The committee hopes that the RBA will continue to closely examine the lessons learned from its forecasting approach, its use of models and its communication approach, and consider how they can be improved,” it said.
“Australian households, workers and industries, facing intensifying cost-of-living pressures and challenging working and business conditions, deserve no less.”
Dr. Lowe appeared before this House committee in September.
His suggestion that the cash rate would stay at a record low of 0.1 percent until 2024 was made before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February sent crude prices soaring.
In another bit of confusion, a separate Senate Economics Committee, headed by Labor Jess Walsh, referred to Dr. Lowe as its honorary doctor in its Hansard transcript of his November questioning.
He even asked the head of the Reserve Bank what his preferred title was, after he was affixed with an honorary name tag of Mr at the Canberra hearing last month.
Thank you, Dr. Lowe. Just wanted to clarify your preferred title. I have been referring to you as Dr. Lowe because you received a PhD,” she said.
The Governor was referred to by the House Economic Committee by the honorific ‘Mr’ instead of ‘Dr’, despite the fact that he has a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US (pictured). )
“But his nameplate says ‘Mr. Lowe’ and I’m told that may be his preference.”
The RBA governor replied: ‘I have no preference. As long as you’re polite, I don’t care what you call me.
Dr. Lowe is now referred to with the honorific Mr. on the Reserve Bank’s website, despite the fact that his 1991 doctoral degree is still listed.
The central chief with a Ph.D. has presided over eight straight monthly interest rate hikes in 2022, with December’s hike pushing the cash rate to a 10-year high of 3.1 percent.
Since May, monthly payments on an average $600,000 mortgage increased by 40.8 percent, or $934, to $3,225 from $2,291, as average variable rates with the big four banks rose to 5.01 percent from 2.24 percent.