access to a much larger range of products. moreover, the overall availability of finance to purchase housing in particular seems to be adequate. the second theme is that, the market price of risk having risen, various players want the public purse to take on some of this higher price through various forms of support or regulatory change. the various ideas should, of course, be assessed on their merits. but an important high - level point is that, in some instances at least, it would appear the taxpayer is being asked to shoulder more risk, one way or another, in order to facilitate the provision of private finance. whether, and in which areas, that might be a good idea – and if so how much might be charged for such support – is of course for governments and legislatures to determine. hopefully your inquiries will be able to assist this process.

philip lowe : remarks at a reserve bank board dinner with members of the sydney community speech by mr philip lowe, deputy governor of the reserve bank of australia, at a dinner with members of the sydney community, sydney, 6 september 2016. * * * good evening. on behalf of the reserve bank board, i would like to warmly welcome you all to this dinner. these dinners, which we hold in all the state capitals, have become one the highlights of our calendar. they provide a fantastic opportunity for us to talk with leaders from the worlds of business, politics, academia and the community sector. so thank you all for taking the time to join us this evening. this particular dinner marks a very special occasion. earlier today, glenn stevens chaired his final – and 110th – meeting of the reserve bank board. as you probably know, glenn has been the governor of the rba for 10 years. before that he was the deputy governor for five years. and before that he was the chief economic advisor to the board for more than five years. all up, he has attended 215 meetings of the board over some 20 years. glenn has also attended and chaired 41 meetings of the payments system board. i am delighted that many of the current and former members of both boards who have served under glenn are here this evening. given the sheer scale of glenn ’ s contribution, it is appropriate to begin this dinner by delivering – on behalf of us all – a few words of tribute to him. after that, and after we have had our entree, the treasurer, the hon. scott morrison mp will speak and then glenn will say a few words. that will bring the formalities to a close and then we will enjoy the rest of the meal and conversation. many of you may know glenn personally. those of you who don ’ t know him might feel like you do : there are few australians whose public utterances are so closely scrutinised and so widely covered by our media. but whether you know him personally, or through the media, i am sure you will have formed the same impression of glenn. that is of an incredibly dedicated servant of the public over a career that spans 36 years, and a man of the highest integrity. glenn has relentlessly served the interests of the australian people. he has brought a very high level of analytical rigour to the task. he has exercised an independence of thought that is not always seen in public life. he has patiently explained difficult economic issues to australians