second, recent ecb initiatives to enhance european statistics ; third statistical information for macro - prudential purposes ; and fourth european statistics as a possible model for global statistics. 1. statistical implications of a quantum leap in economic surveillance it is essential to strengthen further the euro area dimension of surveillance and policy adjustment. in a speech three days ago, 2 i reviewed the recent commission proposals from the european statistical system is the partnership between the statistical authority of the european union, namely the commission ( eurostat ), and the national statistical institutes and other national authorities in each member state that are responsible for the development, production and dissemination of european statistics. “ global governance and euro area economic governance ”, world policy conference, 16 october 2010. a euro area perspective and highlighted where we need more ambition still for the euro area, in order to safeguard the smooth functioning of our monetary union. today, i would like to outline in more detail what we need in terms of the statistical implications for the “ quantum leap ” that is needed in economic surveillance. there are essentially three points. first, the reliability of the general government statistics underlying the excessive deficit procedure and the stability and growth pact must be guaranteed when they come out. while the government finance statistics of the overwhelming majority of the member states is reliable, this does not yet apply to all of them. yet as we are in a highly integrated union, we need reliable statistics not just from the majority of member states – we need it from each and everyone, no matter how large or how small the country is. we have seen that the potential for loss of credibility affects the entire union. therefore, in cases of data deficiencies, the recently amended powers of the commission ( eurostat ) regarding the quality assessment of statistics in the context of the excessive deficit procedure must be applied in full. this is best documented in action plans to be monitored at the european level. moreover, in terms of both reliability and timeliness, government finance statistics would benefit in several countries from closer integration of the budget process, in particular among different parts of general government. where the planning, execution and monitoring of public budgets is a well integrated process, reliable government finance statistics are available almost without delay for decision - makers and the public at large. why would gdp, which is an economy - wide concept, be available in a timelier manner than statistics on general government deficit and debt? my second point is that there should be mechanisms to ensure that governance and quality provisions laid down in the european statistics code

us, as we too in australia are experiencing something similar. we are still searching for the full answers, but the fact that the experience is common across so many countries suggests that there are some global factors at work. in my view, these are partly linked to changes in technology and to globalisation. both of these affect perceptions of competition and they both are a source of uncertainty about the future. in turn, they are affecting pricing decisions across the world. https : / / www. rba. gov. au / speeches / 2019 / sp - gov - 2019 - 05 - 21. html 4 / 16 5 / 21 / 2019 the economic outlook and monetary policy | speeches | rba we can't be sure how long these effects will last and whether the coexistence of low inflation and low unemployment is temporary, or whether it is a new normal. whether or not it is permanent, the coexistence of low inflation and low unemployment does appear to be highly persistent. this persistence has led to a reassessment in a number of countries of the unemployment rate that is sustainable without inflation becoming a concern. this is an important issue and one i will return to in the context of australian monetary policy. the australian economy i would first like to provide an update on the australian economy. just as the global economy slowed over the second half of 2018, so too did the australian economy – we went from growing at an above - average pace in the first half of 2018 to a below - average pace in the second half ( graph 4 ). graph 4 as has been the case globally, we had our own country - specific factors that have temporarily weighed on economic growth, including the drought and some disruptions to resource production and exports. more fundamentally, though, the main reason for the shift in momentum in the australian economy is a slowdown in household consumption growth. over the second half of 2018, household consumption increased by just ¾ per cent, which is an unusually soft outcome. https : / / www. rba. gov. au / speeches / 2019 / sp - gov - 2019 - 05 - 21. html 5 / 16 5 / 21 / 2019 the economic outlook and monetary policy | speeches | rba the decline in housing prices is a factor here, but the more important factor is the long period of weak growth in household income ( graph 5 ). over the past three years, household disposable income has increased at an average rate of just 2¾ per