Christopher Luxon speaks to the media from Fieldays
Reserve Bank board chair Neil Quigley “regrets” the time it took to release information around Adrian Orr’s surprise resignation as Governor more than three months ago.
“RBNZ [Reserve Bank of New Zealand] was late in producing a response to some of the OIAs [Official Information Actrequests] we received on Adrian Orr’s resignation. I regret that this delay occurred,” Quigley said.
His statement followed Finance Minister Nicola Willis making it known she was unimpressed with the way the RBNZ handled public communication around Orr’s departure.
“I have spoken to their chairperson Neil Quigley and expressed my view they did not manage that Official Information Act request well and I expect them to do better,” Willis said this morning.
Later in the day she clarified she had confidence in Quigley.
Quigley explained in his statement: “The circumstances and the volume of information associated with the OIAs on Adrian Orr’s resignation were complex, and we needed to be sure that our consideration of relevant information was comprehensive”.
“As well as our obligations under the Official Information Act, we needed to take into careful consideration the former Governor’s exit agreement and privacy law. For this reason, we extended consultation on the information and our response, including review by senior external counsel.”
Quigley said he was limited in what he could say on the day Orr resigned, because of his exit agreement and the fact negotiations over Government funding were still under way.
“We were conscious of the need to explain to staff of the RBNZ the potential implications for staffing levels of a lower level of funding and needed time to consider the details of that,” Quigley said.
“We are taking into account the feedback that we have received on our management of these OIA requests and looking carefully at how we can improve our response times in the future.”
Commenting on the RBNZ’s communication around Orr’s resignation, Willis said agencies must “comply with their statutory obligations” and “wherever possible, are open and transparent with New Zealanders”.
“Of course, they need to balance that against their legal obligations when it comes to employment discussions and agreements, but on this one, I think they could have pulled their socks up.”
Reserve Bank board chairman Neil Quigley "regrets" time it took for the bank to release information on Adrian Orr's resignation. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Background
Willis had been tight-lipped on Orr’s resignation.
On Wednesday she said she became aware on February 27 that employment discussions had begun. But she was not involved as it was a matter between Orr and the bank.
“While I have always been able to speculate that Mr Orr’s views on funding may have contributed to his resignation, I did not view it as proper for me to speculate on that matter when I was not a party to the employment discussions that led to his resignation,” Willis said.
The Herald asked Quigley on the day Orr resigned whether any disagreement over funding had contributed to the then Governor’s decision to quit.
Quigley did not confirm that, instead saying the bank was working through “some views” about funding and finalising its submission to the minister.
“That conversation about funding has involved the normal challenge that you would expect and has been constructive, so the board is managing that process,” he said.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has criticised the bank's handling of the information. Photo / George Heard
After the resignation, the RBNZ began internally trying to keep staff on message, emphasising that Orr’s decision to resign was “personal”.
The documents released primarily relate to an extensive communications plan about the resignation. The situation was codenamed “Project Baroda”.
A series of answers to different questions were produced in case staff were asked about the resignation. None of the answers were upfront about what led to Orr’s resignation.
The matter of funding had been bubbling away for a while.
In September last year, the RBNZ bid for more than $1 billion of government funding for the five years to 2030. Treasury advised Willis the proposal didn’t provide good value for money.
In mid-February, Orr wrote to the board to explain why he believed it should push for the funding it believed it needed.
He emphasised the need for the RBNZ to remain independent from the Government.
In late-February, Willis told the Herald the RBNZ had to trim its expectations around funding.
Nine days later, the RBNZ submitted a more modest bid for $786 million of funding.
Then in mid-April, Willis confirmed the RBNZ’s five-year funding package would total nearly $776m – 8% more than the funding it received in the five years to 2025.
A number of senior staff have since left the RBNZ amid a restructure.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.
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.
