Reddell said he wouldn’t publish an amended version, as the article was written for an international audience and there was “copious” material on his blog about the events that led to Orr resigning in March, as well as those that followed.
“I hope at some stage to produce a NZ-focused summary account and analysis of those events,” Reddell wrote on his blog.
Reddell is known for having a long-standing beef with the Reserve Bank. He has for several years been a thorn in its side, making frequent information requests under the Official Information Act, and analysing its policy-making via his blog.
Reddell is also a director of the Bank of Papua New Guinea. Previously, he held senior roles at Treasury and the International Monetary Fund.
He was among those who complained to the Ombudsman about the lack of transparency around Orr’s departure.
This led to the Ombudsman, in August, requiring the Reserve Bank to reveal the fact Orr quit after the board presented him with a letter of concerns, which it agreed to bin.
The board was worried about Orr’s conduct in meetings – an issue he disputed. It was also concerned about Orr lacking trust in the board, which backed away from its original pitch for a big government funding increase, which Orr deemed necessary for the bank to do its job properly.
The Reserve Bank originally stonewalled those who asked why Orr stepped down as Governor almost midway through his second term, the day before the Reserve Bank hosted a big international conference. It was worried about breaching the conditions of Orr’s exit agreement.
The drama prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to push Reserve Bank board chair Neil Quigley to resign in August.
Reddell blogged extensively about the events and provided commentary for the media.
Crucially, he received a leak from an anonymous insider, who provided an account of the circumstances around Orr’s resignation before they become public. He published the account in July, which largely turned out to be correct.
Orr only took aim at the article Reddell wrote for Central Banking, which he claimed included numerous untrue allegations.
The Reserve Bank also complained about the article, alleging it included factual inaccuracies.
Orr, Reddell and Central Banking have declined the Herald’s requests for comment.
Orr hasn’t said anything publicly about the Reserve Bank since he quit.
The agreement he signed when he left stipulated that neither he nor the Reserve Bank would “disparage” each other, Willis, the Treasury or the Government more generally.
Reddell hasn’t written anything about Orr since he received the legal threat.
However, he has done a post critiquing an assessment the Reserve Bank did of its Covid-era money printing programme.
Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald’s Wellington business editor, based in the parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.
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