Michael Reddell: Oh, what a tangled web

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive - from Marmion, by Sir Walter Scott.

Those were the words that sprang to mind on Friday evening when I heard the news that Neil Quigley had finally resigned as board chair (and board member) of the Reserve Bank. There had been more than enough in his conduct over recent years, and in what he tolerated from Orr, that Quigley should have gone long ago – and certainly shouldn’t have been reappointed by Willis last June – but had it not been for the repeated and sustained efforts of mislead the public over the circumstances of Orr’s departure no doubt he’d have seen out his term (which expired 30 June 2026).

Mike's Minute: The Reserve Bank mess is finally at an end

Rhetorical question - why do you think Neil Quigley quit on a Friday night?

The key is, he would have been booted if he didn’t walk. So it sort of ends a shambolic and shameful period for what should be one of our most esteemed institutions.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Can we trust another word out of Neil Quigley's mouth?

I don't enjoy saying what I'm about to say because personally I quite like Neil Quigley, but I think that he needs to quit as the chair of the Reserve Bank - simply because I do not think that we can ever trust a single word that comes out of that man's mouth again as the chair.

He has been busted telling not just one, but quite a lot of fibs about Adrian Orr's resignation.

David Farrar: Reserve Bank confirms Orr quit over funding

The Herald reports:

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has confirmed Adrian Orr resigned as Governor as he wanted more funding for the central bank than the Government was willing to provide.

The bank said in a statement released under the Official Information Act that its board – chaired by Neil Quigley – conceded a lesser amount of funding was fine.

Michael Reddell: What was the story re Orr’s resignation?

It is almost six weeks since the shock announcement early on the afternoon of Wednesday 5 March that the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Adrian Orr, was resigning effective 31 March, and that in fact he had already left and an acting Governor was already in place. Orr had been (controversially) reappointed in late 2022 to a second five-year term that still had a little over three years to run.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: RBNZ's Board Chair & Medical School at Waikato?....

Question: How Can RBNZ's Board Chair Make the Best Non-Political Monetary Decisions when he's at the same time begging Finance Minister Willis for a new Medical School at Waikato?

Its a tense time at the Reserve Bank. It currently has an Acting, or Temporary, or Stand-In, or Stand-Up, or On Probation, or Interim, Governor ever since the Former Governor walked off in a huff. Finance Minister Willis and Reserve Bank Chair of the Board, Neil Quigley, who is also Vice Chancellor of Waikato University, are discussing monetary & financial regulation matters which put potentially billions of dollars of Big Monopoly Private Bank profits and bonuses at stake. This week, Willis & Quigley together announced there would be a Review of the Capital Requirements that the retail banks must adhere to. The Finance Minister was the driver behind that announcement, which came about from lobbying by the Big Banks.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Why Did Willis Reappoint RBNZ Chair Quigley....

Why Did Willis Reappoint RBNZ Chair Quigley after saying Governor Orr's re-hiring "appalled" her? It was Quigley who hired, and who re-hired, him.

The funny money plot thickens. I've done a mini Watergate investigation but still can't get answers. Is there a cover-up? Governor Orr, who has left the RBNZ in a huff after causing rampant inflation & "engineering" stagnation, was hired in the first place on the strong recommendation of RBNZ Board Chair, Neil Quigley. Then he was re-hired in 2022 for another five year term, again on Quigley's recommendation.

Michael Reddell: An excellent working relationship with the Governor

Back in June the Minister of Finance (and the coalition government more generally) surprised many/most observers by reappointing, for another two-year term, the chair of the Reserve Bank Board, Neil Quigley. Quigley, you may recall, has been on the Bank’s Board since 2010, has been chair since 2016, and in 2022 (when the new Act and Board structure came into effect) had been appointed for what then seemed like a two-year transitional (ie final) term by then Minister of Finance Grant Robertson.

Michael Reddell: Reading Reserve Bank plans and budgets

It isn’t something I’d usually recommend (or even do myself) but the useful new Twitter account @Charteddaily (basically one interesting New Zealand chart a day) posted a couple of charts drawn from the suite of Reserve Bank documents that were released last Thursday, and they piqued my interest (and, for reasons you will see below, concern).

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 21/6/24

World media report on our latest GDP stats – but RBNZ chairman’s reappointment was too trivial even for the govt’s website

We didn’t learn about it from the government’s official website (which contained no fresh news since we reported yesterday when we checked its contents an hour ago).

But we were tipped off that Finance Minister Nicola Willis had announced the reappointment of Professor Neil Quigley as Chair of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Board for a further term of two years, until 30 June 2026.