Greens Senator Nick McKim Wants The Treasurer Over-rule The RBA

Nick McKim has renewed calls for Treasurer Jim Chalmers to “use his existing powers” to cut them. 'The RBA are not infallible high-priests of the economy, and they often get it wrong,’

Greens demand Treasurer Jim Chalmers deploy ‘crazy’ interest rate strategy

This is just insane the RBA is independent for a reason and although the Treasurer Jim Chalmbers have the power to over-rule the RBA decision this has never been done before and is incredibly dangerous - I find it insane and worrying that a senator doesn't understand high inflation is far worse than higher interest rates.

Poll Options

  • 19
    I agree with Senator Nick Mckim
  • 43
    I dont agree with Senator Nick Mckim
  • 400
    Senator Nick Mckim is a lunatic

Comments

  • +30

    Anything to do with Green Org….. Easy pass. You know it ain't normal.

    • +14

      And actually Greens have become BOLD RED.

      The Greens are now the FAR LEFT RADICAL COMMUNIST PARTY.

      They want to CONTROL EVERYTHING - No freedom of choice any more.

      They are adopting Radical socialist policies that have failed and led to disasters in old time socialist countries.

      Stay well away from the Greens.

      They are no longer the tree loving, koala loving party they used to be - far from it

      • +3

        Can you explain yourself, young man?

      • +1

        Please actually explain this comment, these are some very serious accusations. I haven't noticed anything like this but I also don't pay much attention to politics.

        • In the article.. they want to essentially take over the RBA just because….

      • +1

        The GREAT THING about cookers

        Is that they can’t HELP THEMSELVES from capitalising RANDOM WORDS in the middle of their sentences.

        They think it gives them SOME KIND of authority

        But all it does is send a STRONG SIGNAL that they are in fact, a nut bar.

        It is funny to read their posts out IN YOUR HEAD imagining at these points they are suddenly yelling.

    • +4

      Whether you vote Liberal or Labor, put Greens last

  • +44

    Greens senator spouts populist, barely thought through idea. It must be a day ending in y.

    Edit: It also should be noted, this isn't the first time and Senator McKim owns 4 properties.

    • +17

      It also should be noted, this isn't the first time and Senator McKim owns 4 properties.

      They had the gall to have a go at the PM for owning an investment property. Now they're having a go because he's selling/sold it, lmao. Just bad-faith all-round.

      • +13

        Some people say politicians should have to wear badges on their suits of the logos of all their corporate donors. I think they should have to wear like a large yellow star on their suit, one for each investment property their family owns.

        • +4

          For The GREENS its should be the RED COMMUNIST STAR!

        • I think politicians should wear badges with a number indicating how many investment properties they own.

    • +18

      That's the trouble with the far left, they're full of good intentions but can't seem to fathom that someone has pay for stuff and that money doesn't just grow on trees.

      • +6

        money doesn't just grow on trees.

        Printing money these days is far easier than growing trees!

      • +1

        Far left? More like primary school or banana republic.

        • They're always primary school until they get power.

      • +4

        Maybe good intentions, but not good ideas. I haven't heard anything useful come from the greens even if they could be funded.

      • +1

        I know you had good intention to say the far left have good intentions but the truth is no they don't, especially the ones at the top, aka, MPs and Senators at state and federal levels, these ones are not stupid enough & snaky enough to know their plans are just sh!t but they simply carry on as those policies (like this one) are their differentiators to earn them a good living (a few years of $200k-300K plus perks plus reputation is not a bad deal). They just just bad!

        their rank and file is a differnt story though but you know the drill, these good guys won't make to the top.

    • +2

      Edit: It also should be noted, this isn't the first time and Senator McKim owns 4 properties.

      Not surprising at all. More people need to cotton onto the fact that politicians these days only care about furthering their own interests and scratching the backs of their political donors. People think voting in a new party will fix this country, it won't, certainly not in short term. These career politicians have been in the game for so long that they no longer give a damn about the country. They are all too corrupt and will say anything to get into power and then just do whatever they want. Look at what Albo said before the last election, he said he didn't back the LNP's mass migration program of 160k people each year and he said he wanted more Aussies in jobs. Now he's bringing in 500k people a year and non-migrant job growth has dropped to zero, yet people will say you're anti-immigration and racist when in reality you're simply concerned that Aussies aren't getting jobs. 10 years ago the people working at Macca's would be teenage or young adult Australians, now when I go half the time the accents I hear are foreign. It makes me wonder where (or if) young Australians are working these days.

      The average Australian simply doesn't give a (profanity) either, if you complain and point out these issues they will say you need to work harder and stop asking for a free house to live in. If you complain about the pot holes in the roads they will say you're whinging (even though what you really want is for this country to stop going backwards and to become a better place). They'll call you racist because you don't want more people moving here, crowding cities and putting huge demand on healthcare services. Bulk billing has disappeared the past couple of years, is that how we should be moving forward as a country? How about councils start collecting bins once a month only? How about we cut back on train services?

      The politicians have us right where they want us, bickering and arguing with each other as they take all the riches for themselves and their rich mates. It's about time people woke up to what is happening, but everyone is too busy in their 9-5 trying to put food on the table that they can't actually take time to sit down and actually think about what is going on in this country. People will stand in rental lines of hundreds of people and just say "Wow this is a long line, oh well, guess I'll just have to wait" when they should be wondering "Why is this line so long?". People do not think and question "Why?" anymore. They just accept what's happening and sit on their side of the political fence and fight with the other side because of silly ideologies.

      Men are women and women are men now, 1/3 of us are born overseas, companies are disappearing left, right and centre, companies have been sold to overseas corporations as the years have gone by, books on safe sex are being written for children, energy companies have been sold off and privatised, we sell our gas to countries for pennies and now there are concerns we're running out of it, parents give their children tablets to keep them busy instead of picture books and novels, lecturers will pass uni students who can't even speak english and fail their exams (and some of whom then try to get work in this country, because we need incompetent people working in jobs?), women can now just go on OnlyFans and make bank etc. Sensibility has disappeared completely.

      • You can stop worrying, Macca's are still hiring anyone that will turn up for their shift

  • +5

    Straight out of the Trump playbook. Their approach to how government works (ie completely ignoring how a government works) is astounding.

    • +3

      That dudes comments throw the RBA under the bus for political populism. Not the action of doing what he wants but just making the comment is damaging. You are right it's a trump move. Lowering interest rates for anything other than sensible macroeconomic rationale would quickly hyperinflate us and leave us way poorer just to get a quick rate cut in the immediate term. So stupid.

  • +12

    i recommend that they dissolve the government and appoint one man to rule over the land.
    maybe JV

    • +1

      Or one person?

    • -8

      i recommend that they dissolve the government and appoint one man to rule over the land.
      maybe JV

      It would have to be Ozslav that guy was a legend

      • +1

        Only in his own lunchbox.

        • +1

          Birds of a feather flock together (in this instance, people who insist they're just common sense centrists but also just happen to believe the Bible)

          • -4

            @CrowReally:

            Birds of a feather flock together

            I was implying he was 'funny' because he had some outrages takes i think some of the people you are flocking with take Ozbargain comments section WAY too seriously

            It is a bargain website with some light harted banter this isnt the LWNJ Socialist baned of communist you might be accustom too some people dont 'care' that much about social politics

            Going to say you might want to 'look' at your comments and see you and Ozslav are fairly similar just on the other side of the 'same' coin boss - but he probably has the self awareness to know some of his opinions are out there

            • @Trying2SaveABuck:

              I'm just a fun centrist who happens to agree with everything in the Bible, what's the deal with you guys all being left wing nutjob socialist/communists, I don't care about social politics at all but those are all terms for you

              Thanks for the light hearted banter

              • -5

                @CrowReally:

                Thanks for the light hearted banter

                LMAO so triggered - as i said 'two sides of the same the coin'

                • +3

                  @Trying2SaveABuck: If mocking the hypocrisy of the religious makes me "triggered", it's a badge I'll gladly wear. I think you're using the term incorrectly, but I also think you don't have the faintest idea about any of these matters so I don't mind you using it as a label for me.

                  Kind of strange a word like "triggered" springs to mind for you, but maybe that's a normal word used by people who don't engage social politics…

                  • -6

                    @CrowReally: Oh so Triggered

                    Lighten up you're not God/Allah/Vishnu/advanced Space Aliens etc
                    no one cares what badges you're wearing but perhaps you need to be a little more cultured and realise you might be part of said 'hypocrisy' if not the most hypocritical of them all maybe even a little bit prejudice…

                    It a bargain forum dont take it too seriously have a good life boss

                    Might not hurt to practice a little kindness in your life once and a while

                    • +1

                      @Trying2SaveABuck: Your verse to study today is Matthew 7:5

                      Then you can pray for me to reach the same level of kindness and self awareness that your hero SlavOz displayed

                      • -5

                        @CrowReally: You couldnt be less triggered - blokes quoting the bible on Ozbargain and you think you're not different to Ozslav BAHAHAHAHAHA

                        thanks for the laugh bro i needed it

    • JV is a woman

      • +1

        I think the JulesVerne avatar is what throws people but yes, she's a woman

  • +4

    double dissolution needed tbh

    barely anything is getting done.

    • -5

      If the 'barely anything' you say is getting done was compared to the LNP dynasty that came before, then either take part of the blame for installing those idiots, or vote accordingly next time.It's no throwaway line that all the LNP did over a decade was shut stuff down,slow it down, and play mind games with the voters. They did more approving dodgy mines on their sunset than they did for the rest of their tenure.

      • +1

        Eh, comment wasn't so much directed at Labor specifically, moreso the Greens + Teals mess. Pretty impartial about Liberal v Labor atm.

        • We need more disruption like the teals not less imo.

  • +14

    Sustainable Australia now looking like the viable left whilst greens almost fall off a cliff.

    • You have to assume that by the time the Greens do hold the balance of power that it will be lead by people who actually do have viable policies. Until then all that matter is raising the member and vote numbers. When Greens does become the single most powerful party it will attract some powerful politicians who know how to get things done. It's basically the same reason Dutton is leader of the opposition today.

      • +2

        When Greens does become the single most powerful party

        Them fighting words.

        • +3

          Or an entry in a short horror story competition.

        • Them's hopelessly delusional words.

      • Dutton is the leader because the right want a pseudo fascist dog whistler in charge.

    • +1

      I still can't get past their early days, first they were a bit of an oddball one issue party, they went through a bunch of name changes until they found one that they could use for vote harvesting, then seem to have been one of the few survivors of those microparty days.

      They used to be called the Stable Population Party and had some slightly uncomfortable policies like boosting foreign aid in the form of contraception to poor countries. It took them quite a few years to start adopting policies on the environment, climate, etc (i.e. the greens stuff). Now UBI is their big thing, they haven't really explained how that works beyond "we're rich, let's give people money" though. Much like they've never explained how we'll deal with the ticking timebomb that would be no population growth with an aging population.

      • +7

        ticking timebomb that would be no population growth with an aging population.

        Common talking point, total BS. A stable population is not a time bomb.

        • -1

          Except it wouldn’t be stable though. The birth rate is low, we’d be dropping immigration to a lower percentage and people are living longer.

          In the long run sure, it would be stable. The next 20 years though the percentage of people over 65 would increase dramatically (it already will, it’ll be worse without temporary immigrants who skew a lot younger)

          • @freefall101:

            the percentage of people over 65 would increase dramatically

            Not enough to ruin society, and in many ways the corrections would benefit the next generation.

    • +8

      Sustainable Australia now looking like the viable left

      I made the mistake of looking at their material, thinking it was a better answer, and actually joining and paying them membership.

      Then along came the election, and was their policy platform a sustainable Australia with a sustainable population? No, all their material was about stopping corruption and overdevelopment. Somehow they had morphed into a party whose concerns were the sorts of issues that might win them seats on the North Sydney council. And apparently did.

      Look a bit further down on their web site and you see they are afraid to stand up and say they oppose big immigration. They make a big point of saying they are a "pro-immigration party".

      They were a huge disappointment.

      They had totally wimped out on anything to do with sustainability. I told them despite being a party member I not only wouldn't I campaign for their candidates in my state, I wouldn't even vote for them myself.

      • +1

        They're pro sustainable immigration. Like capping it at 150k a year

        • They're pro sustainable immigration. Like capping it at 150k a year

          should be capped at 75k but that would be a start - the issue is the higher education sector (ie Unis) would essentially go bankrupt without 100s of 1000s international students

          the Australian higher education sector needs a BIG reform

          (the soft cap was 75k under Howard Costello - never had a housing issue then, never had issues with poor wage growth but somehow people still thinking bring half a million people to a nation with 26m population here every year is a good idea)

          • +1

            @Trying2SaveABuck: Our economy has gone the complete wrong way the past few decades. It's simplified too much and our reliance on China and international students have gone too far. It's no wonder to me Albo is simping so hard to Modi, he probably wants them to buy our iron ore because he can see the writing is on the wall with China. There is no way out of the mess we're in without drastic change and even if we did have drastic change (which we won't, because politicians are selfish and only bow down to their donors) it would take years to get anything off the ground. How long would it take to engineer new products, build a reputation for quality, get people [here and overseas] to buy them etc.? Literal decades.

            As other countries like Singapore, China and South Korea worked hard to pull themselves out of poverty, Australia relied on our wealth of resources and rested on our laurels, now the chickens are coming home to roost.

        • +1

          You look on their website and they talk about sustainable immigration levels.

          But when it came to the election they didn't campaign on that. They had an issue that they could have put front and centre, that all the polling said they would have gotten voters to vote for them on, because all the polls say the overwhelming majority of Australians think the immigration level is way too high. They could have said "give us your #1 choice to send a message on the immigration level, then vote for the party of your choice". Instead the political idiots hid that away, and even called themselves the "Sustainable Australia Party - Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption" on the voting form, and got 1/30 of a quota.

          A tiny fringe party is no use unless it gets votes. And the way to get votes is to have a clear, simple, popular message, and put it front and centre. No-one going to go to your web site to find out what you're about, they're just going to look at what's written on the voting form. They're useless.

          • @GordonD: They've renamed themselves Sustainable Australia Party – Universal Basic Income now. Not sure how that makes Australia more sustainable either (from what I can tell they're going to tax rich corporations and hand it out to people, which will help us all buy a house).

            Harvest votes from a micro-party to win a seat is the entire game. It's basically a lottery from all the little parties, who usually have little in common yet all preference each other to game the system and have a chance where they wouldn't before - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_Party_Alliance

            I'm all for more diversity in politics, but really it's just an election scam to win over votes on name alone.

  • +9

    This kind of sabre rattling is smart. Even if it's a crazy demand, an impossible demand, it gets people thinking that our system is meant to be working for us, we aren't meant to be working for the system. There's no shortage of land, this problem isn't unsolvable, and we have an indefinite amount of time to fix it, we can take difficult steps today to make homes affordable again tomorrow.

    • +6

      I agree with what you have written. I don’t think the Senator’s suggestion is a good example.

  • +4

    Wheres the ' all politicians are lunatics' option

  • +9

    I find it insane that you expect the greens to have a sensible idea on monetary policy.

  • -1

    Same as Trump. If you ever end up going down the Trumpy policy road, young Greenies, you are going the wrong way - go back.

  • +4

    He's not a true lunatic when compared to Joyce,Kanavan and the onion muncher. But nor is he a true Green like Bob Brown. You'll never see the current crop of greens saving a single tree. They chose to become social engineers while the environment capitulated under their watch.
    I'm with Pharkurnell, the poll needs another option so we can add the dog-whistling, social cohesion wrecking balls.

  • +4

    heaven help us if the greens ever get power. They have a trump approach to the economy and politics where they won't listen to reason and would just dictate to everyone while also blaming everyone else for the bad outcomes.

    • Trump VS Greens?
      Some of the greens could pass a mental health check.
      I don't think any greens have gone full on sociopath yet.

      • +2

        I would question the creds of any doctor that gave them a pass on a mental health check. these fake greens we see now have no interest in the health of environment, the economy or anyone else, their goal is populist politics to increase their power.

        • +1

          Yep, they are poor copies, for sure.
          But that greens mental fitness test can wait until the USA itself questions the Trump enablers.Doctors,minders,backers the whole shebang.
          He has and will impact globally to the point of irreversible harm. If ppl think he is not seeking an endless political dynasty from this point, they should also seek a check up,IMHO. In the future the term 'doing a Trump' will be a euphemism on a scale of behaviour. The extreme end of that scale.

          TLDR Book Trump in first.

        • -1

          If the party is going to get to 50% of all voters voting for it then they need to be a large party, accomodating a variety of interests and needs. It's baked into the name though, environment will always be key regardless of what concessions happen along the way.

  • +4

    Perspective from someone that likes the Greens:
    I vote [1] Greens. I support most of their economic policies. I do not support this one and agree Nick is a lunatic in this instance. I agree it would be a dangerous precedence.

    • +1

      It seems the Greens are having a crack at getting extra populist votes.
      I think this is short sighted, and they should stick with a high integrity, leftist alternative to neo-conservatives, not spout Brian farts to get a headline in the press for the sake of it.

      • Problem is, any headline good or bad is a good publication.

        • Yeah, all the people in this thread along with thousands of others across the country are sparing a thought for the greens today. Probably wouldn't otherwise.

    • +2

      they have good intentions but have NFI on how to create policy. I say this as a leftie

  • +1

    I've always thought that the Greens want housing price to fall. Apparently the current interest rate is not high enough to cause a dent on it.

    • +2

      Maybe they've realised that won't get them into power so they're changing tact.

    • +1

      I doubt they actually thought that much ahead..they just throw out whatever they think people what to hear

  • +9

    One of the reasons the reserve bank was given the power to set interest rates was to create a separation of powers for this matter to minimise political interference.

    In the past politicians and political parties were setting interest rates for political purposes which caused significant damage to the economy at the time.

    Information what separation of powers is about and the importance of it.

    https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-…

  • +3

    The Greens have done crap all - especially in my electorate where most around me are rusted on supporters. They only pander to a very small group of people and oppose everything without rhyme or reason. Our neighbour put up a 1m x 1m storage shed and said it was potentially a "structure" for someone to live in - seriously, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

  • +3

    I think this is worse than a Greens senator being a lunatic. The greens have announced they won’t support legislation to make changes to the RBA recommended by the review unless the Treasurer over rules the RBA and lowers rates immediately. It’s a party policy, not one senator’s opinion.

    They’ve gone from a third voice on environmental and social issues to outright fringe lunatic.

  • -5

    If the Greens can achieve what is required to bring about social change, good on them.

    Most people in Melbourne like me support what they do to better this country and bring about equality.

    I do think the RBA need to be abolished for good.

    We can’t let the greedy well off have it alls ruin Australia for everyone, the top 1% can’t be permitted to hoard 90% of all wealth.

    Redistribution is a must, when people can’t afford food right now, just look at the people buying exotic cars, investment properties, expensive GPUs etc.

    Neg all you want, if you can’t handle the truth lol

    • +4

      expensive GPUs

      lol

    • +3

      I guess we have different versions of the truth.

    • +6

      If the RBA is abolished as you desire, please answer these questions:

      1. Who will be the banker of last resort in a financial crisis? Sometimes the RBA needs to step in to stabilize the financial system. Would you be happy with commercial banks taking up this role?

      2. Who will issue Australia's dollars? The Commonwealth Bank was once the reserve bank in Australia. Would you be happy with them taking up this role again? If not, then who will take on the role?

      3. Where will banks park money overnight if not at the RBA? Be specific.

      • +4

        No you misunderstand. He doesn't want any negative consequences of the suggestion, only the positive ones.

        It's like how I don't like trucks on the road because they get in the way, so they should be banned because of the inconvenience. It doesn't matter that they are needed to move goods around and the places I visit run extensively on truck logistics - I'm only interested in the positive consequence of life without trucks in the way. /s

        For the record, I think interest rates are a very blunt tool at managing inflation as it places the burden exclusively on mortgage holders, however I'm not well educated on the topic enough to know what the other tools are and which should be used.

        • +2

          It isn't exclusively on mortgage holders, it also hits businesses that operate with loans, also hits investors be that with shares or other businesses. But yes it is a blunt tool, but it is the only tool the government has provided them. The rest is entirely up to the government, if the government does its job properly then the blunt tool the RBA has is wielded less.

    • +1

      Can you elaborate on how the RBA is responsible for the distribution of wealth?

      With the RBA abolished, who would set official interest rates? The PM? Nobody?

    • Lmao upvoted!

  • +3

    No, the RBA should be independent as much as possible. Obviously the government can not reappoint the RBA head, but that's as far as meddling should go.

    Without independence the current government (all flavours) would simply cut rates before an election to win votes. Subsequent inflation and other problems? That's someone else's concern: we have votes to win!

  • -1

    Giving a bunch of unaccountable neoliberals free rein over our economy has been an absolute disaster. Even with our vast mineral wealth the economy has hollowed out substantially. The RBA shouldn’t even exist.

    • Yeah but everyone thinks the Greens are crazy and want to continue voting for the same two parties that won't change anything. They don't even bother to look at what their policies are. The Greens need to kick out these nutters from their party but they don't.

      We pay taxes like an EU country with no natural resources.

      • Personally I agree the Greens are crazy on this account. Artificially lower interest rates caused this mess and they’re just advocating to kick the can down the road, which is IRONIC for an environmentalist party.

        The only effective protection against a politicised RBA is to simply not have an RBA in the first place.

        • Look out for the next stage of the neoliberal playbook which both major parties will support: private public partnerships. This way billionaires and private equity firms will be able to direct public money where they see fit under the illusion of government run programs.

  • One of the biggest clowns out of the whole circus in Canberra.

  • +1

    Punching cones policy making.

    We need a third party that isnt insane.

  • Aussie addiction to property price growth has gone so far our politicians are calling for the RBA independence to be removed lol, you seriously cannot write a crazier story. As other nations are bringing down rates because they faced reality earlier than we did, Aussie politicians are begging the RBA to drop rates because they are feeling the pinch of mortgage payments because wow, maybe house prices aren't actually all that realistic? Wait, no, that can't be. A country with a huge amount of land and a simple economy should have houses that cost +$1m, how silly of me, what was I thinking.

    I find it hilarious that he also says it's a bad thing that money is moving from "… borrowers to savers…" as if people who save their money shouldn't be rewarded for it? So he's saying to everyone, if you diligently make sacrifices in your everyday life like not travelling, not buying coffee, cooking at home etc. and save your money as a result, you should be punished for it. We live in a complete fkn circus.

    • That’s an unfair characterisation of borrows/savers in today’s macroeconomic conditions. The vast majority of today’s “savers” were simply carried with the rising tide. It’s always things like “we could only afford to go out and get spastic at the RSL two nights a week” or “we had to put our spare coins in a jar”. Not buying it.

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