In a wide-ranging but conservative speech in Perth last night, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe re-iterated the RBA's priorities are based around lowering unemployment, lifting wages and keeping a lid on housing prices. Despite the growth of tap-and-go and other forms of electronic payments, the value of notes on issue as a share of GDP is the highest in more than five decades, RBA governor Philip Lowe told guests at the Reserve Bank Board Dinner in Perth. "This highlights the continued importance of banknotes as a store of value as well as a payment mechanism," he said. So the upgrade of the notes is to a major logistical exercise, as is the introduction of the cashless New Payments Platform, which needs to be monitored, among other duties, even when interest rates are being held steady.Domestically, the Board is closely monitoring housing markets across the country and trends in housing finance, Lowe said. "Housing credit growth has slowed, which, from a medium-term perspective, is a positive development. Our assessment is that this slowing largely reflects reduced demand for credit by investors, although there has been some tightening in the supply of credit as well." "With housing prices falling in a number of cities, largely due to a shift in the underlying fundamentals, investors no longer find it as attractive to invest in residential property as they once did. This is a normal part of the cycle. While credit standards have been tightened, mortgage credit remains readily available."But it is interest rates that was the big ticket item, as Lowe acknowledged.At its meeting yesterday morning, the RBA Board's assessment was that the Australian economy "is moving in the right direction", he said.Over the past year, GDP increased by 3.1 per cent and inflation was around 2 per cent. The unemployment rate is currently 5.3 per cent, which is the lowest it has been in nearly six years. "In the broad sweep of our history, these are a pretty positive set of numbers", Lowe said."Our central scenario is that economic growth this year and next will be a bit above 3 per cent, which should see the unemployment rate come down further." Another set of issues that the Board continues to pay close attention to is the outlook for wages growth and inflation. The RBA needs to see in unemployment down and wages up before it will move on interest ratesOur expectation is that wages growth will pick up from here, but the pick-up is likely to be only gradual," Lowe said.