Private-sector wage growth has slid to a record low of just 1.8 per cent, throwing into doubt budget projections and confounding the Reserve Bank, which would prefer not to have to cut interest rates again and run the risk of reigniting house prices.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe identified house prices as a block on further interest-rate cuts on Wednesday, telling a business gathering that he hoped current rates would "generate stronger growth and we can avoid a further upward pressure on housing prices".

He was "trying to balance multiple objectives".

"We would like the economy to grow a bit more. If we were to try to achieve that through monetary policy, that would encourage people to borrow more and it probably would put more upward pressure on housing prices" he said. "At the moment, I don't think these two things are in the national interest."