Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says that a senior public servant should not be appointed as the next Reserve Bank governor to avoid any connection with past governments.
As speculation mounts on whether Philip Lowe will be replaced as the head of the RBA once his term expires, Mr Dutton said the potential successor should not come from the public service.
Two leading candidates for the position are Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy and Finance Secretary Jenny Wilkinson.
But Mr Dutton said the next governor should be someone from a non-political background, given the importance of the position.
“We don’t believe it should be somebody who is familiar, if you like, to the government, somebody who has been working very closely with the treasurer, the finance minister, or the prime minister,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB on July 13.
“We don’t want somebody there who’s been involved in the political process at a senior level.”
Dr Lowe’s term as Reserve Bank governor expires in September.
The bank’s deputy governor Michele Bullock is also seen as a leading contender.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said a call on whether the term would be extended or a new governor be appointed would be made shortly and has also held talks with shadow treasurer Angus Taylor about the decision.
Dr Lowe has faced criticism following multiple interest rate hikes in the past year after previous comments saying the cash rate would not increase until 2024.
The opposition leader said bipartisan support for the appointment was critical.
“The Reserve Bank is one of the country’s most important institutions, like the High Court - we don’t want political appointments.”
He said the governor needed to have independence because they made tough calls on interest rates “in our country’s interest, even if they’re unpopular calls”.