This could ultimately violate the prohibition on the monetary financing of governments and so would not be compatible with our mandate. The economic recovery thus cannot be sustained by monetary policy alone; it also needs support from politicians. The main objective is to bring about a turnaround in global growth. This involves stepping up fiscal policy measures where there is scope and need.
The Commonwealth budget was in surplus and there was no debt, which meant expansionary fiscal policy measures could be afforded. In addition, monetary policy could be eased significantly, without taking interest rates to zero or engaging in the highly unconventional policies that have been necessary in some other countries.