2022 Economic Outlook

Paul Bloxham

Chief Economist, HSBC

Paul Bloxham is HSBC’s Chief Economist for Australia, New Zealand and Global Commodities and is a Managing Director. He is chief spokesperson for HSBC on forecasts and trends for the Australian and New Zealand economies and their interaction with global financial markets and international economies.

Paul is also a key spokesperson on HSBC’s unique view on global commodity markets and works closely with HSBC’s global equities team. He is also a member of the Australian National University’s Shadow Reserve Bank Board and is an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University. In 2017, Paul’s team won Focus Economics awards for best overall forecaster for each of Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining HSBC in 2010, Paul Bloxham spent 12 years as an economist within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Economic Analysis Department. Paul holds a Master’s degree in public financial policy from the London School of Economics

Nicki Hutley

Economist

Nicki Hutley is a highly experienced economist, with broad-based expertise gained over three decades of practice in financial and investment markets and in economic consulting.

After many years in the corporate world, including most recently as a partner with Deloitte Access Economics, Nicki is now an independent economist and also consults with Social Outcomes, developing social impact programs and finance solutions. In 2020, Nicki was appointed as a Councillor for the Climate Council and admitted as an expert faculty member (economics) to Singularity University.

Nicki is particularly interested in the intersection of economy, society and environment. Her research covers both macroeconomics and microeconomic policy across a broad field of issues.

Nicki is a council member for the Economics Society of Australia (NSW), a Board member for One Million Women and an advisor for the Financy Women’s Index. Nicki is also a frequent commentator in the media and is a regular guest on both The Drum and The Project.

Joanne Masters

Oceania Chief Economist , Ernst & Young (Moderator)

Jo Masters joined EY as the Chief Economist Oceania in 2019. Her passion for economics stems from her commitment in providing businesses with deep insights to the economy on a macro-level and what it means for them. She has been a part of the economic discussion in Australia for over 20 years and is a trusted advisor in economic and policy issues nationally, and on a global scale. Prior to EY, Jo was a senior economist at ANZ and spent over a decade at Macquarie Bank. She is a Member of the Committee for Economic Development Australia’s (CEDA) Council on Economic Policy, as well as an Executive Member of the Australian Business Economists and sits on the Advisory Board for the Financy Women’s Index.

Stephen Walters

Chief Economist, NSW Treasury

Stephen Walters is chief economist for NSW Treasury. He joined Treasury in July 2018. Previously, Stephen was chief economist with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and investment bank JPMorgan, from October 2001 until February 2016. Before joining JPMorgan, Stephen was Senior Economist with Access Economics in Melbourne and International Economist with Norwich Union in the UK. He also spent 7 years as an Economist with the Treasury in Perth. Stephen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Western Australia and a Master’s Degree in Applied Finance from the University of Melbourne. He also is a graduate of the AICD’s Company Directors’ Course, and has qualifications in journalism. He has published three books. Stephen is Chair of the Australian Business Economists (ABE) and is a member of the Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC).