RBA board: Treasurer Jim Chalmers appoints corporate-heavy advisory board to Reserve Bank

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has appointed corporate-heavy advisory board members to the Reserve Bank of Australia, following a six-month review into how the bank sets monetary policy.

The appointments are part of the most comprehensive reforms at the Reserve Bank in 30 years, which recommended splitting advice into two separate committees — a more expert Monetary Policy Board supported by better processes and a new Governance Board to support and oversee management. The appointments add to the existing monetary policy board whose members were appointed by the previous Coalition government.

“This is about modernising the Reserve Bank, picking up international best practice, and making sure that we equip the Reserve Bank to make the best, most considered decisions into the future,” Dr Chalmers said.

With interest rates staying unchanged for more than a year as inflationary pressures slowly ease, the Federal Government has announced two new appointments to the interest rate setting monetary policy board and six appointees to the governance board, which will be tasked with strengthening and modernising the central bank.

Former Adelaide and Bendigo Bank chief executive Marnie Barker and Australian National University economics professor Renee Fry-McKibbin have been appointed to the new monetary policy board.

The daughter of dairy farmers, Ms Baker has 35 years experience in financial services, including six as CEO of Bendigo Bank. She is a director at the Regional Australia Institute and was deputy chair of the Australian Banking Association.

Professor Fry-McKibbin was one of three panellists appointed to conduct a review of the RBA which found the current structure could not adequately question the governor’s decisions.

She has been at ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy for more than 20 years and has had visiting scholar roles at the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England. She is married to former Reserve Bank board member Warwick McKibbin.

Ms Baker and Professor Fry-McKibbin will join existing RBA board members including CSL director Carolyn Hewson, economist and former Melbourne Business School dean Ian Harper, former Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross and former Coca Cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins who will move from their current RBA board roles to the new monetary policy committee.

The nine-member committee will also include RBA governor Michele Bullock, deputy governor Andrew Hauser and Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy.

The new governance board will be chaired by Ms Bullock, with experienced director Carol Schwartz to take on the role of deputy chair and Telstra director Elana Rubin to join as member.

Former Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott, former Telstra CEO David Thodey, co-founder of law firm Gilbert+Tobin, Danny Gilbert and former CEO of the Export Finance Australia Swati Dave will round out the nine-member committee that will oversee human resources, internal finances, risk management, technology and corporate strategy.

Ms Westacott has more than three decades of experience across the public and private sectors and was the chief executive of the Business Council of Australia for more than a decade. She is currently the Chancellor of Western Sydney University.

Mr Thodey spent six years as Telstra CEO and 22 years at IBM Australia. He is currently the chair of Xero and the Chancellor of the University of Sydney.

Mr Gilbert is a leading lawyer and philanthropist and current chair of Gilbert+Tobin, one of Australia’s leading corporate law firms. He has extensive board experience, including at National Australia Bank, the Business Council of Australia and as chair of the National Museum of Australia.

Ms Dave is a former senior banker, who alongside her previous role at EFIC is the chair of the advisory board to the Centre for Australia-India Relations and previously served as deputy chair on the Asia Society Australia Board and as an advisory board member on the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

On Sunday, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor criticised the Government for a “sack and stack strategy” with regard to the board changes. During the press conference, Dr Chalmers rejected that notion saying the two new members of the monetary policy committee were run by the Opposition in July last year and that Mr Taylor had not suggested any other potential candidates.

“We’ve made sure that we’ve fulfilled as best we can a good assessment of necessary skills on the boards, and appointed an incredibly esteemed and distinguished academic economist in Renee Fry-McKibbin, one of Australia’s finest economists, and made sure that we’ve also got someone joining the board who has financial sector experience in Marnie Baker, and so I think it’s a really good combination of people,” Dr Chalmers said.

“(Ms Fry-McKibbin) has thought deeply about the Reserve Bank and about monetary policy more broadly, and I’m really very proud and very grateful that she’s accepted this opportunity.”

The new members will be appointed on March 1 next year, and will serve staggered terms.