"They rushed this": why the Reserve Bank got it wrong by raising rates

With inflation driven by Christmas holidays and data centres for artificial intelligence, the RBA didn't need to raise the interest rate this week, argues Matt Grudnoff. On this episode of Follow the Money , Matt Grudnoff joins Ebony Bennett to discuss big economic reform opportunities facing the government and why the Reserve Bank of Australia is so cautious about cutting rates, yet so quick to hike them up. Join economist, author and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and friends in Adelaide on Sunday 1 March and in Sydney on Thursday 5 March . Tickets are selling fast, so get yours now. Guest: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @mattgrudnoff Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett Show notes: Hasty decision inflicts more pain and will cost jobs , the Australia Institute (February 2026) Australian high schools the most expensive in the world – new research , the Australian Institute (February 2026) Treasurer Jim Chalmers on the likelihood of an interest rate rise today , Radio National Breakfast , Australian Broadcasting Corporation (February 2026) Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions We'd love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au . Support Follow the Money:

You can listen to "They rushed this": why the Reserve Bank got it wrong by raising rates online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

"They rushed this": why the Reserve Bank got it wrong by raising rates is an episode from Follow The Money by The Australia Institute.

This episode is 29:58 long.

This episode was published on Feb 4, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Follow The Money when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.