SYDNEY, July 14, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Michele Bullock will become the Reserve Bank of Australia's first woman chief in its 63-year history starting in September, the government said Friday, effectively sacking the incumbent following a series of unpopular rate hikes.

After 43 years at the bank, outgoing chief Philip Lowe has recently been dogged by criticism from the government and media over the rate increases, which were aimed at dampening inflation but have raised mortgage costs for homeowners.

The bank's decision to freeze the benchmark rate last month came after May's 25-basis-point hike sent it to its highest point in 11 years.

Australia's treasurer Jim Chalmers said that Lowe "goes with our respect, he goes with our gratitude and he goes with dignity".

Chalmers said the move not to renew Lowe's tenure was "not about any one decision taken by the Reserve Bank board or any one outcome".

He also said it would not affect the country's continuing struggle with the rising cost of living.

Bullock graduated from Australia's University of New England in 1984 and joined the central bank the following year, moving through a range of roles before being appointed the institution's first woman deputy governor in April 2022.

She described that appointment as breaking new ground for the bank.
"I am quite conscious that a lot of people will look at it that way, so I want to make sure that I do a good job and that I am conscious of the young women coming up around me," she said at the time.

- 'Safe pair of hands' -

Mark Humphery-Jenner, associate professor of finance at the University of New South Wales Business School, said that Bullock was "a safe pair of hands" and likely to maintain similar policies to her predecessor.

He told AFP: "While she has made both 'dovish' and 'hawkish' statements, she has been part of the leadership team and involved with the rate decisions thus far.

"It is likely that the current rate trajectory will continue and there will be little change in policy course."

But Humphery-Jenner added that "most of the rate hikes will likely have occurred" by the time Bullock's term begins in September.

National Australia Bank chief economist Ivan Colhoun said that Bullock was "likely to be seen as more practical and less theoretical" than Lowe.

"Her recent career in the RBA has been outside of the normal policy departments that recent governors have come from -- having been assistant governor of the financial system group during 2016-2022," Colhoun said.

"Given this background, she may well be more attuned to risks in the household sector from the sharp rise in interest rates seen in this cycle."

News of Bullock's appointment as governor on Friday gave Australia's markets a small boost, with the benchmark ASX200 up 0.3 percent in the first 15 minutes of trading.