The Latest Breaking News from the Reserve Bank

Federal Parliament resumes today with the government under pressure on the state of the economy, and Julia Gillard celebrates the 30th anniversary of Labor’s gender quotas.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has distanced himself from the strident attack his one-time boss Wayne Swan launched on the Reserve Bank, which the former treasurer accused of “putting economic dogma over rational decision-making”.

So far we have not gone into recession – but only because our population has grown and the government has kept spending

The latest national accounts show the Australian economy is struggling. It’s what you would expect after the sharpest series of interest rate rises on record, and is more or less what the Reserve Bank was trying to achieve to bring down inflation.

You head to the register at the cafe to pay for your lunch, swipe your card and suddenly realise you’ve been hit with an extra small but unexpected charge.

The government’s economic critics want it both ways — complaining it’s not doing enough to lower inflation while also not doing enough to support growth.

The economy is stuck in the slow lane and Treasurer Jim Chalmers says that's by design, with higher interest rates necessary to tame inflation.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers mightn’t have expected his weekend comment – made ahead of expected low growth figures later this week – that interest rate rises were “smashing” the Australian economy to set off the reaction it has. After all, it’s been something of a Chalmers mantra.

Inflation remains top of mind as the Reserve Bank of Australia continues to keep interest rates on hold at a time when the United States Federal Reserve signals that it will start cutting rates.

There’s a paradox about the way we respond to threats to the cost of living.

A mixed set of inflation numbers are unlikely to move the needle for the Reserve Bank as it weighs interest rates and persistent price pressures.