Sunrise host Nat Barr has shared details of a disparaging email that a Reserve Bank of Australia staff member wrote about Kmart and BIG W during a live TV segment.
The popular star raised the issue during an interview with Labor minister Tanya Plibersek and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce to discuss controversy surrounding the RBA’s spending.
The central bank is under fire after internal emails released under Freedom of Information revealed that the RBA spent thousands in taxpayers’ money on soirees.
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They included details of one board dinner in November, which saw the RBA spend more than $13,000 on food and nearly $4,000 on alcohol just hours after delivering another rate rise.
Nat also revealed that one email from an RBA staff member suggested shopping for Christmas decorations at Kmart and BIG W to save money.
But while the major retailers are hugely popular with millions of Australians for festive items, the worker appears to take a dig at the stores in their note.
“One staff member actually raised concerns about the spending and then for the Christmas party they said ‘I know it sounds not attractive, but Kmart and BIG W do have some good Christmas decorations at a budget price,’” she said.
Joyce agreed that the RBA should be more open about its spending.
“Come on, come on, that is other people’s money and you gotta be more transparent about it,” he said.
“If you are completely happy with the money you are spending on lunch and a $4000 grog bill and a $13,000 food bill, then make sure you put it out into the papers the next day. ‘We had dinner last night and this is how much we spent.’
“And of course you wouldn’t do that. I got no problems with them having lunches and dinners, we are not that stupid. They are a professional organisation.”
Plibersek agreed that “any public institution has to be very careful with the way that it spends its money”.
She added: “And one of the changes that our treasurer Jim Chalmers has proposed when it comes the Reserve Bank – he’s done a review – is that it should be more transparent and should give regular press conferences, for example, to explain the decisions it’s making to Australians.”
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