QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator SHARMA (New South Wales) (14:03): Jonathan Kearns, the Chief Economist at Challenger and a former RBA official, said yesterday: Two factors mean the RBA is unlikely to be able to deliver 2.5 per cent inflation with the cash rate at that level: first, financing conditions remain easy; second, fiscal policy continues to provide some stimulus. The RBA needs to offset the stimulus from these two factors, and so a further cut is looking very unlikely … Isn't it clear that your policies are contributing to interest rate rises?