News 95K views since yesterday

Bullock warns Australians will "feel like it's a recession"

In ABC News Australia's press-conference clip, the RBA governor distinguishes avoiding an economic downturn from avoiding the feeling of getting poorer.

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ABC News (Australia) Story of November 4, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of ABC News (Australia)'s most watched videos since yesterday, with 94,849 views.

'It will feel like a recession,' RBA governor says | ABC NEWS

Avoiding a recession would not mean Australians escape a painful squeeze, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock says in a brief exchange published by ABC News Australia.

Asked whether she would raise interest rates further and push the economy into recession to tame inflation, Bullock answers: "We are not looking to tip the economy into recession if we can avoid it."

But she immediately adds a qualification: "But we do need to get inflation down and we do have excess demand at the moment."

The exchange follows Tuesday's interest-rate rise, which ABC reports took rates to their highest level in 18 years. Beyond the repayment pressures covered in the previous day's report, this clip supplies Bullock's explanation of why the economy could feel worse even without entering recession.

She points to stagnant income growth, weak productivity growth and a major supply shock as reasons people feel poorer. ABC's accompanying account says the RBA's central forecasts do not anticipate recession, but do foresee markedly slower growth and sluggish consumption.

The clip drew about 95,000 views since yesterday, the largest audience among the broadcaster's new uploads over that period. Its central distinction is Bullock's: an economy can avoid recession while households still experience a decline in their living standards.

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