The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Ian Macfarlane AC, will present the 2006 Boyer Lectures, to be broadcast on ABC Radio National in November and December.

Mr Macfarlane has been closely involved with the development of Australia’s monetary policy since joining the Reserve Bank in 1979. He was appointed Governor in 1996. Prior to this he was Assistant Governor (Economic), and Chief Manager (Financial Markets). It is his signature that graces every Australian banknote.

Before joining the Reserve Bank, Mr Macfarlane worked in the Economics Department of the OECD in Paris for six years, following his work at the Institute for Economics and Statistics at Oxford University.

He holds a Masters Degree in Economics from Monash University, an honorary Doctor of Science (Economics) from Sydney University, an honorary Doctor of Letters from Macquarie University and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia in 1998. In 2004, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. Mr Macfarlane will finish his term as Governor of the Reserve Bank in September this year.

ABC Chairman, Donald McDonald AO, told radioinfo: “The Board is delighted such a distinguished Australian has accepted the challenge of presenting these prestigious lectures. Mr Macfarlane is in a unique position to illuminate our understanding of economic matters and will no doubt stimulate broader discussion on the directions in which Australia may be heading.”

This year marks the 47th anniversary of the Boyer Lectures. They began in 1959 and are named after the late Sir Richard Boyer a former chairman of the ABC. Each year the ABC Board invites a prominent Australian or group of Australians to present six talks expressing their thoughts on major social, cultural, scientific or political issues.