A plan for a populist lending mandate for the Reserve Bank of Australia has won more backing in Parliament. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon and Democratic Labor Party Senator John Madigan introduced a bill into the Senate last week that seeks to create an Australian Reconstruction and Development Board under the umbrella of the Reserve Bank of Australia.The two senators' bill mirrors that introduced in the House of Representatives in May by lower house MP Bob Katter. Both bills seek to establish a specific board under the umbrella of the Reserve Bank. "The aim of this board is to aid reconstruction and development in rural and regional areas," said Xenophon.The explanatory memorandum prepared for Katter's version of the bill said the board would have "the capacity to reconstruct debilitating financial arrangements, and to provide suitably tailored funds and capital arrangements."The Australian Reconstruction and Development Board's responsibilities would "include the ability to facilitate, and, when necessary, manage rural adjustment and financial reconstruction activities. The proposed board would also be "able to tailor funding and financial arrangements to meet identified needs of nationally important industries operating in particularly uncertain or risky environments."It could also "identify and resolve serious financial imbalances, sectoral stresses and development shortfalls."