Reserve Bank boss Philip Lowe hit with caption fail in final days

Outgoing Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe was hit with a bizarre closed captioning fail during one of his final speeches to the Australian public. 

Two days before Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced Dr Lowe would not be reappointed for a second, seven-year term, the RBA boss gave a stark speech to the Economic Society of Australia in Brisbane. 

Dr Lowe’s speech contained some home truths for the Federal government as policymakers grapple with rampant inflation.

But some strange text appeared on the screen for viewers of the live-steam of Dr Lowe’s speech.

‘Struck he remember the size of the d*** the size of the,’ the awkward caption read at one point of Dr Lowe’s speech.

Dr Lowe warned of a price-wage spiral during his speech on Wednesday 

Then, in another moment, the captions read: ‘Allah Allah inflation to be the life of the party and Baloo’. The caption fail was first shared by popular Instagram account, The Aussie Corporate. 

On Friday, it was announced Dr Lowe will be replaced by his deputy Michele Bullock, a 38-year veteran of the RBA and the first woman to hold the top job at Australia’s premier interest rate setting body.

In his Wednesday speech, Dr Lowe warned about a possible price-wage spiral, in which price rises are used to justify wage increases and ultimately serves to make things more expensive.

Inflation in Australia has remained persistently high despite 12 successive hikes in interest rates, and sits at 5.6 per cent, which sits well above the RBA target range of below three per cent.

‘If we saw Australia in the same situation as in the US, Canada, and UK, where wages are growing at six per cent, that would have implications for our setting of monetary policy,’ Dr Lowe said.

‘We will get inflation back to target, and we’re going a bit slower than others because we want to preserve the gains in the labour market.

‘If it turns out we can’t do that, we will have to take the decision to be tougher.’

Dr Lowe (right) was replaced as RBA governor by his deputy Michele Bullock (left) on Friday 

The comments echoed those Dr Lowe made in June that contradicted Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ claims that higher wages were not fuelling inflation.

Dr Lowe also announced that from next year, the RBA would hold eight board meetings instead of 11, with decisions to be made in February, May, August and November on the first Tuesday of those months. 

This marked the biggest change to the Reserve Bank since the 1990s when it formally adopted an inflation target and became independent.

Ms Bullock will take over the top job at the central bank over on September 18, following her appointment by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Friday.

Ms Bullock is the first Labor-appointed Reserve Bank boss since 1989 and the first woman to lead the RBA since it formed in 1960.

‘She is an outstanding economist and leader with a deep understanding of the RBA’s role and operations, built up over her long and distinguished career with the central bank,’ Dr Chalmers said on Friday morning.

‘Ms Bullock will make history as the first woman to lead the RBA in its 63-year history.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Reserve Bank of Australia for comment on the caption fail.