lesson is that uncertainty is a fact of life and we need to manage it – none of us has a crystal ball and the unexpected happens. the second is that there is a lot to be grateful for – that indeed, the glass is at least half full. i have had the great privilege of working with a group of very talented people at the rba who are dedicated to serving the interests of australians. i have also had the privilege of being the governor of a widely respected central bank in a country that 1 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches enjoys one of the highest living standards in the world. it is a challenging job, but an immensely rewarding one. over my term as governor there have been three main economic challenges that i have had to deal with. the first was a protracted period of inflation being a bit below target. the second was a global pandemic. and the third was the highest inflation rate in more than 30 years. none of these events were widely predicted and none were unique to australia. notwithstanding these events, underlying inflation has averaged 2. 7 per cent over my term ; in headline terms, inflation has averaged 3 per cent. these numbers are above the midpoint of the 2 – 3 per cent target range, but they are within that range and inflation expectations have been well anchored. even so, inflation has been more variable over my term as governor than it was in the previous two decades ; over the past seven years, inflation has varied from a low of – 0. 3 per cent to a high of 7. 8 per cent. my view is that it will be difficult to return to the earlier world in which inflation tracked in a very narrow range. the increased prevalence of supply shocks, deglobalisation, climate change, the energy transition and shifts in demographics mean either steeper supply curves or more variable supply curves. while this doesn't mean that the inflation target can't be achieved on average, it does mean that inflation is likely to be more variable around that target. in terms of the labour market, when i became governor in 2016 the unemployment rate was in the 5½ – 6 per cent range. over the past year, it has been around 3½ per cent – the lowest rate in nearly 50 years. the share of australians with a job has never been higher than it is today and the number of people with a job has increased by more than 2 million since mid - 2016. the current cycle still has way to run

philip lowe : some closing remarks speech by mr philip lowe, governor of the reserve bank of australia, at the anika foundation, sydney, 7 september 2023. * * * i would like to thank all the rba staff members who have assisted so ably with my many speeches over the years. i would like to begin by thanking you all for your support of the anika foundation. your generosity is critical to the success of the foundation's work helping young australians. thank you, in particular, to the national australia bank for the sponsorship of this event over recent years – your support is greatly appreciated and is making a difference. this is the seventh and final time that i have had the honour of addressing the annual lunch of the anika foundation. my 43 years at the rba, and my seven years as governor, finish next week – hence, the title of my talk today,'some closing remarks '. the government announced my appointment as governor on 5 may 2016. it turned out to be the most challenging day of my life – not because of the trepidation i felt about taking on the job, but because of a medical emergency. i was in ottawa, canada, at the time. i had just spoken at a conference organised by the bank of canada and had been congratulated on my appointment. as i left the stage, i felt very tired from what i thought was overwhelming jet lag. but the next thing i recall was that i was in a room with bright lights wearing just a flimsy gown. as i was trying to make sense of where i was, i thought about something i had previously read on the internet : that there was a secret society of central bank governors and that it had some strange initiation practices. i recall thinking maybe it is true here in canada! but i was wrong – i can assure michele there is no such society or initiation ceremony. instead, the canadians were into world - class health care. unbeknown to me, the carotid artery in my neck had split, probably because of the way i had slept on the plane. this had led to a blood clot with potentially fatal consequences. but the fast action of the bank of canada staff and the excellent care at ottawa hospital got on top of this situation. seven years later, i am finishing my term fit and healthy. i recount this story because it reinforced two lessons for me that have influenced how i have gone about my job. the first