addition, we have no contemporary experience as to how labour costs will evolve in a world where the national unemployment rate is below 4 per cent. we do know, though, that wages growth remained modest a number of years ago when the unemployment rates in new south wales and victoria were temporarily around 4 per cent. the point here is that there are many unanswered questions. we are unlikely to know the answers quickly. there are many moving parts on both the demand side and the supply side of the economy and it will take time for these various issues to be resolved. this is relevant to the board's deliberations about monetary policy to which i will now turn. monetary policy i want to start with the decision the board took yesterday to end the bond purchase program. the final purchases under this program will take place on thursday 10 february. in taking this decision, the board considered the three criteria that have guided it from the outset : ( i ) the actions of other central banks ; ( ii ) the functioning of our own bond market ; and ( iii ) most importantly, the actual and expected progress towards our goals of full employment and inflation consistent with the target. all three criteria pointed to the same conclusion : that is to bring the bond purchase program to an end. most other central banks have already completed their programs, or will shortly do so. the federal reserve has announced that it will end its program in march and the bank of canada, the bank of england, the riksbank and the reserve bank of new zealand have all ended their programs. this is relevant because one of the reasons we introduced our program was that other central banks were buying bonds. if we hadn't also done this, our bond yields and exchange rate would have been higher than they have been and this would have impeded the recovery from the pandemic. in terms of the second criterion, our bond market is continuing to function reasonably well and the rba's stock lending activities are supporting this. but there have been some pressure points recently. this is evident around the three - year mark, where there has been a gap between the price of the physical bonds and the futures contract. among the range of bonds we are purchasing, the rba owns 42 per cent of australian government securities on issue and 60 per cent of some individual bond lines ( graph 8 ). our assessment is that the market could accommodate further purchases by the rba, but that there would be a rising probability of additional strains emerging.

zeti akhtar aziz : recent initiatives to promote financial inclusion speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the 2006 graduation ceremony of the malaysian insurance institute, kuala lumpur, 19 august 2006. * * * members of the board of the malaysian insurance institute, faculty members, distinguished guests, graduating students, ladies and gentlemen. assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera, saya berasa amat berbangga dan berbesar hati kerana dapat turut serta meraikan kejayaan yang dicapai oleh para graduan mii pada hari ini. majlis ini menandakan usaha berterusan industri insurans, khususnya mii, untuk meningkatkan tahap profesionalisme kakitangan industri insurans melalui pendidikan berterusan, serta kesungguhan industri insurans untuk sentiasa mempertingkatkan tahap perkhidmatan bagi menjana perkembangan industri. tahniah dan syabas saya ucapkan kepada saudara dan saudari. ladies and gentlemen, today, we recognise the achievement of yet another group of graduands of the mii. let me again congratulate all the 642 individuals who have successfully completed their programmes, among whom are 276 who will receive the masters in business administration, associateship and post - graduate diploma qualifications while 26 will receive the certification as chartered financial consultants. there are also 340 individuals who will receive their undergraduate diplomas and certificates in various insurance - related fields. i am particularly pleased to welcome the graduands from bangladesh, india, indonesia, the maldives, thailand and vietnam. the increasing participation of candidates from abroad is a welcome development as it adds an international dimension to the mii's programmes by promoting an exchange of cross - border experiences and expertise shared in the programmes. it also strengthens the network among the workforce of the industry in the region. on this day, all of you have indeed achieved an important step forward in your professional career. the skills and knowledge acquired in achieving your qualifications will enhance your ability to contribute to the performance and development of the insurance industry. in this increasingly competitive and challenging economic and financial environment, knowledge has emerged