The Reserve Bank Of Australia have landed themselves in hot water after it was released that they spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on a board dinner – literally the day after they told everyone else to cut back on spending.
Last October, as the effects of the cost of living crisis had the country in a choke-hold, the RBA held a “special” event dinner in Hobart where they spent $13,700 on food, and chased it with $4,000 on bevvies. But no, how dare anyone call them “out of touch”.
This taxpayer-funded piss-up came just days after the RBA looked at the state of Australia’s economy, thought something along the lines of “gee all this unnecessary spending is really damaging things, we better make sure nobody splurges on anything they shouldn’t,” and hiked up the interest rate for the sixth consecutive time. No points given for self awareness here, folks.
The costs were released officially through a Freedom Of Information document, which highlighted the exact prices and meals purchased at the dinner. Attendees to the event dined on a tailored dinner of four items per person, a main course, and a desert. Meanwhile I ate a dinner of 2-minute ramen, also for the sixth consecutive time.
This huge cost to the taxpayer has been the source of much outrage and embarrassment for the RBA, which is so fair considering that RBA Governor Phillip Lowe literally said to the public that week in a statement, “higher interest rates are putting pressure on household budgets.” Wonder if he was considering that pressure as he sipped on a $68 bottle of Freycinet Louis Chardonnay?
Some have jumped to defend the RBA’s spending, stating that for a dinner with that many people the final costs were actually cheaper than previous RBA events where lunches have been seen to cost $25,000. And to that I say, if the RBA wants Australians to cut back on spending, you can feed a nearly infinite amount of people with a Bunnings sausage sizzle for a hundredth the cost.
Image Credit: Alex Ellinghausen / FairFax
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