Forget the inflation blame game – politicians should let the RBA get on with its job

‘The Reserve Bank itself has to accept some of the blame for the rebound in inflation, and hence in interest rates,’ Saul Eslake writes after the cash rate in Australia was hiked to 4.6%. Photograph: Nikki Short/AAP

As universally expected by economists and financial markets, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy board on Tuesday lifted its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.6%, the highest level since October 2011 (at the peak of the mining investment boom).

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has attributed this week’s decision – and the inflation concerns underpinning it – to the war in the Middle East. Others, including the shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, and some economists, blame it on “excessive” levels of, and growth in, government spending.