pandemic ( graph 12 ). the reasons for this are complex and they are not fully understood, but it is likely that this slowing is related to the subdued levels of investment over recent times. graph 12 labour productivity * march 1993 = 100, log scale, quarterly index 1993 – 2002 2003 – 2014 2015 – 2021 index 0. 6 % 1. 2 % 2. 4 % * gdp per hour worked ; black lines denote linear trend ; labels show average annual growth sources : abs ; rba from this perspective, it was pleasing to see a pick - up in business investment in the recent national accounts. machinery & equipment investment increased by 10 per cent in the march quarter and was particularly strong in the manufacturing, construction, retail and farm sectors, as firms responded to the government incentives. the farm sector had been at the forefront of this pick - up in investment, with tractor sales surging over the past year ( graph 13 ). graph 13 tractor sales seasonally adjusted, quarterly ’ 000 ’ 000 4. 0 4. 0 3. 5 3. 5 3. 0 3. 0 2. 5 2. 5 2. 0 2. 0 sources : agriview ; rba this pick - up in business investment is welcome, but we have a fair way to go to reverse the decline in investment over the past decade. if we are to build the capital stock that is needed for a more productive economy and a durable expansion, a further lift in business investment is required. this should be possible, as there are investment needs and opportunities in many areas of our country. the government has rightly identified the digital economy as one of these areas. the farm sector knows this, with some exciting opportunities in the area of agtech. ongoing investment in infrastructure and human capital is also needed. further investment is also required in the energy sector, where technology is evolving quickly, as are the attitudes of investors. the changes in the global energy system are opening up new sources of comparative advantage for australia. we will need more investment to capitalise on this advantage, with much of this investment being in regional australia. how well we do this will have a bearing on our future national income and the shape of the ongoing expansion. monetary policy i would now like to turn to monetary policy, which has played an important role in building the bridge that i spoke about earlier. the rba's actions have led to the lowest funding costs on record, a banking system that is flush with liquidity and very

low bond yields. the actions have also meant that the exchange rate is lower than would otherwise have been the case and household and business balance sheets are stronger. this has been our contribution to the recovery in jobs and economic activity. at the reserve bank board's next meeting we have 2 important decisions to make. the first is whether or not to extend the yield target from the april 2024 bond to the next bond, which matures in november 2024. and the second is whether, and in what form, to extend the bond purchase program once the current program is completed in september. the 3 - year yield target was introduced in march 2020 during an exceptional period. our judgement is that it has been a successful monetary policy response, which has helped keep funding costs low and reinforced our forward guidance about the cash rate. at the time the target was introduced, the 3 - year government bond had a maturity date in early 2023. at that time, the board recognised that the pandemic would require an extended period of very accommodative monetary policy. reflecting this, the board's view was that the probability was extremely low that the conditions for an increase in the cash rate would be met within 3 years. adopting a 3 - year yield target reinforced that message. now, with the passage of time, the 3 - year government bond has a maturity date of april 2024 and, in a few months'time, the maturity date will move to november 2024. in considering whether or not to extend the target to the november 2024 bond, the central issue is again the probability of the cash rate increasing over a 3 - year window. in this context, the board has reviewed a range of possible scenarios. in some of these, the conditions for an increase in the cash rate could be met during 2024, while in others these conditions are not met. the board will review these scenarios again at its next meeting. the bond purchase program has also been an important part of the rba's monetary policy response. it has lowered bond yields and funding costs across the economy and contributed to a lower exchange rate. with the current 6 - month bond purchase program to be completed in september, the board has been working through a range of options for what comes next. these options include : i. ceasing purchasing bonds in september ; ii. repeating the current $ 100 billion purchase program over a similar time frame ; iii. scaling back the amount purchased or spreading the purchases out