We have met this extra demand despite our main storage vault being located in one of the coronavirus hotspots in Melbourne. I would like to close with some general comments about the economic policy response to the pandemic. While monetary policy has played an important role, it has been fiscal policy that has provided much of the support to the Australian economy.
This is quite a change from how things have worked over recent decades and it is being accompanied by a significant increase in public borrowing as governments work to limit the hit to people’s incomes. This shift in fiscal policy is quite a shock for a country that has got used to low budget deficits and low levels of public debt.