The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) led a fairly conservative existence until the early 1980s when the economy experienced waves of financial market deregulation and general economic liberalization. This book tells the story of monetary policy and the political role of the Reserve Bank over the past two decades. It reveals how the bank has been used as a "political football", describes conflicts with the government and the Department of Treasury, and how the bank finally adjusted to political turmoil and managed to assert a level of independence in the 1990s.