Michele Bullock: Chaos as new Reserve Bank boss's first big speech is ruined by screaming protesters...
The first major speech of incoming Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has been marred by furious protesters who hurled abuse and handed her a jobseeker form. Chaotic scenes erupted just before she was about to begin her address at the Sir Leslie Melville Lecture at the Australian National University in Canberra on Tuesday, to discuss the impact of and how the financial sector is affected. Ms Bullock was introduced to the stage inside the lecture theatre by ANU vice-chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt before she was cut off by student protesters. The six angry demonstrators seized upon comments Ms Bullock had previously made saying she would like to see Australia's near-record low 3.6 per cent unemployment rate rise to 4.5 per cent to contain rising inflation. 'Hey Michele, you say 140,000 people should lose their jobs, how do you justify that?' the protesters yelled out. 'The cost of living crisis is driven by corporate greed.' The group stormed the theatre and walked in front of the stage holding megaphones and holding a giant print-out of a jobseeker application with Ms Bullock's written on it. 'If 140,000 people need to lose their jobs, I reckon you should go first,' they said. 'We've started to fill out your form for JobSeeker.' As they walked past the stage, Professor Schmidt leant down and told them 'you should be ashamed of yourselves'. The group started chanting 'we've got a housing fix, tax, tax, the rich, we want a house to live' as they were escorted out by security. The protest appeared to object to the RBA's policies on controlling inflation, using interest rates and unemployment levers. Professor Schmidt spoke up once the student activists were sent out of the theatre. 'It's always good to remind ourselves that we are at a university, and we have activist students even these days, even if I do feel they are somewhat misguided in how they place their activism,' he said, before reintroducing Ms Bullock. 'That's not what I thought was going to happen when I started to speak,' she added. Ms Bullock eventually delivered her speech, warning the premature closure of coal-fired power stations risks a surge in already soaring energy prices. Ms Bullock, who is currently the Reserve Bank's deputy governor, will assume the top post from Glenn Stevens next month. In her last speech as deputy governor, she cautioned there was 'much uncertainty' associated with transition to net-zero, and that a failure to invest in replacement energy generation would pose a major risk to the nation's economy. 'Looking forward, coal plant closures may be delayed to ensure electricity generation is sufficient to meet demand,' Ms Bullock said. 'Coal-fired power plants are scheduled to be shut down over the next three decades. 'This could put upward pressure on energy prices if coal plant closures are not matched by renewables supply and storage.' The Albanese government has legislated an emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030 and committed to increasing the proportion of renewable generation to 82 per cent. But amid ongoing delays to the construction of transmission infrastructure, energy authorities have begun to question whether extending the lifetime of ageing coal fired infrastructure may be necessary to stop power prices from climbing even higher. Currently, households and small businesses are facing relentless power price pain with the Australian Energy Market Operator confirming in late July that wholesale electricity costs had surged 31 per cent in the three months to June. The NSW government is now facing calls to extend the lifetime of the Eraring coal-fired power station beyond 2025. The confidential findings of a review, commissioned by the state government and subsequently leaked, recommended the Eraring power station remain open beyond 2025 to ensure adequate energy supply to the state. In April, the Liddell plant in the NSW Hunter Valley closed. Subsequently, the Australian Energy Regulator found that 'prices would have been lower' had its output continued to be available. However, Ms Bullock cautioned that maintaining existing coal-fired power generation capacity also brought additional challenges. 'This comes with other risks ... coal plants may be more prone to outages as the infrastructure ages. A prolonged reliance on coal-power would make it more difficult for Australia to meet its international climate targets, Ms Bullock also warned. 'Slower coal plant closures would require more rapid reductions in emissions in other sectors to meet national emissions targets,' she added. Ms Bullock will take the reins as Australia's top central banker after outgoing governor Philip Lowe finishes his seven-year term. Dr Lowe faced heavy scrutiny during his term for raising interest rates 12 times in the space of 13 months, creating severe financial pressure on mortgage holders. He also copped heavy criticism after suggesting in 2021 that interest rates would remain at an all-time low of 0.1 per cent until 2024 'at the earliest' only for rates to surge at the most aggressive pace since 1989. Dr Lowe's seven-year term ends on September 17. He is the shortest serving RBA boss in almost three decades. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank paused interest rates for a second straight month, at an 11-year high of 4.1 per cent, after inflation fell.