The Reserve Bank’s inflation targeting framework has received “general but universal support” in submissions to the Reserve Bank of Australia Review. The review panel released a statement yesterday, summarising the views of the 114 submissions it has received and the feedback it has received in a dozen focus groups and interviews with more than 200 people. The submission process closed earlier this month and consultation will finish at the end of the year. The panel will report to the Treasurer in March. On the RBA as an institution, some submissions called for processes to generate more internal debate and openness to outside ideas. On monetary policy, the panel said there was “deep support” for monetary policy to continue to be conducted by an independent central bank. “There has been general, but not universal, support for a flexible inflation targeting framework, which is seen to have contributed to strong economic outcomes over the past 30 years. Several suggestions have been put to the panel for how to specify that framework more clearly,” the panel said. Some submissions criticised the RBA’s approach to implementing the framework and communicating its decisions in recent years. “These have focussed on periods of undershooting and overshooting the inflation target, as well as the use of unconventional monetary policies.” The panel said there were a number of suggestions for increasing the clarity of the board’s role and strengthening its accountability and composition to support effective future monetary policy decision making.