COVID and the Annual Fundraiser
COVID impacts every corner of the economy, including the not-for-profit charity sector.
For the second year running we were forced to hold another virtual event via zoom. Phil Lowe, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, made his annual address to financial markets on behalf of the Foundation on 14 September 2021.
Once again it was highly anticipated by the financial markets. This year 908 tickets were sold and of those 108 donations were made.
The Foundation is very lucky to be sponsored by the Australian Business Economists (ABE) and National Australia Bank (NAB), without whom the event would not be possible.
$50,000.00 was raised, $10,000.00 of which came directly from NAB, which strongly supports the issue of mental health, particularly for young persons.
The event was opened by Professor Ian Hickie of Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Centre. He spoke about the need for better policy and community support for young people dealing with mental health issues right across Australia, the absence of which was exposed by the COVID Pandemic. The Foundation is starting a new Scholarship with the Ian’s Centre for a new PhD on this issue.
Subsequently, the Governor spoke.
Historically Philip, and Glenn Stevens before him, have used the Anika Foundation event to make important speeches. This year was no different.
Phil’s speech was entitled “Delta, the Economy and Monetary Policy”. He examined the outlook for the economy, the sharp bounce back in growth, but with an absence of inflation pressure due to subdued wages growth. Consequently, monetary policy would remain on hold for the time being.
This audio snippet information is available as a Text Transcript below. Full speech of Delta, the Economy and Monetary Policy is available in Reserve Bank of Australia Website.
Many questions were taken from the audience. There were so many that not all of them could be addressed. But it was pleasing to see that a large number of students studying economics at high schools participated in this. Phil reserved some of his answers for questions from these young people.
All in all, it was a great event combining mental health issues, financial market insights and the involvement of schools.
Text transcript of the audio
This is the text transcript of the audio snippet of Phil Lowe the Governor of the Reserve Bank's speech in the 2021 Anika Foundation fundraiser.
Good afternoon. And David, thank you very much for your very generous introduction. And thank you also for the support that NAB is giving the Anika Foundation.
Professor Hickey, can I say thank you to you as well for your words there and for highlighting the important issues of mental health, particularly during the pandemic, the young people. This afternoon I plan to talk about the implications of delta for the economy and monetary policy. But before I do that, I too want to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on young people.
As we've just heard from Professor Hickey, the past 18 months have been very, very difficult for young Australians. We know their support networks have been disrupted, leaving many young people feeling isolated, and unfortunately, anxious about the future.
Many have also missed out on our events that would normally frame their lives such as celebrating achievements with their peers, and their education has also been disrupted. And for many, it's been hard to get that valuable support that a one on one connection with a teacher can provide. So young people are really paying a heavy price.
As Professor Hickey said, this is evident in the increasing incidence of mental health issues. And in the sharp rise in calls to support services. As a parent of three children, I think it's important that we remember this high price when we do conduct a full accounting of the costs of the pandemic, and the various containment measures. So it's in this context that I want to thank you all for your support of the Anika Foundation.
The foundation is doing really important work in supporting the welfare and mental health of young people. I really thank everyone on this call today for being part of that work.