Ex-RBA Boss To Tackle Housing Affordability

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday announced to NSW Parliament that former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens AC had accepted a personal invitation to provide input into the strategy as part of establishing a cross-government working group to tackle housing affordability across NSW.

“The NSW Government understands that housing affordability is top of mind for many people across the State – that is why we have made it a key priority and why we have asked Glenn Stevens to lend his expertise to tackling this issue,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“I am delighted that Mr Stevens, as an economist and long-serving leader of the Reserve Bank, will help us address this important issue,” she said.

“His advice will be invaluable in assessing measures that can have a real impact while avoiding any unforeseen consequences.”

Glenn Stevens ACMr Stevens, who in 2016 retired after 10 years as RBA governor, will review and provide advice on the options being considered by the Government to tackle housing affordability issues in the State, and in Sydney in particular.

“Housing affordability is a growing challenge for many residents of NSW and I look forward to working with the Government on measures that might help address it,” Mr Stevens said.

“I am pleased that the Government has indicated it has an open mind when it comes to reviewing existing and new avenues of dealing with the issue.”

Mr Stevens attended both the University of Sydney and University of Western Ontario, and began his career at the Reserve Bank in 1980 in its research department under various positions. During that time Mr Stevens was Visiting Scholar, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in 1990.