Australia politics live: Rishworth says jobseeker changes to address ‘varying quality’ of for-profit job providers

Social services minister ‘concerned’ by some providers meant to help welfare recipients find work Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Carolyn Hewson , an independent member of the Reserve Bank’s rate-setting board, said the global oil shock has made it more “complex” to manage monetary policy, but that it was wrong to frame the central bank’s deliberations as a “stark choice” between “prioritising inflation or prioritising jobs”. The RBA has hiked interest rates three times this year as it attempts to juggle a (hopefully) temporary stagflationary shock from surging fuel prices that is pushing unemployment and inflation higher. It is often said that central banks face a stark choice in such moments between prioritising inflation or prioritising jobs. It is not a question of which objective matters more; instead, it is about understanding that they are generally complementary over the longer term. Seen this way, the RBA’s dual mandate is an expression of economics in service of the broader public interest. Mutual obligations have been a feature in the system for a long time. [They] play a really important role. It is part of the social contract that, if you’re receiving income support ... and you’re able to work, you do take steps to find a job. What I think is being commented on, where I do agree, is that there’s no point in having pointless, meaningless mutual obligations. Continue reading...