Willis denies RBNZ cover-up; insists she pushed for transparency

In May, she confirmed she was comfortable the explanation that was in the public domain at the time was complete and transparent.

Willis questioned external legal advice the Reserve Bank received

Speaking to the Herald today and yesterday, Willis explained she was constrained in her ability to comment, as she didn’t have all the facts and didn’t want to trigger a legal challenge.

While she knew Orr stepped down, as the board presented him with a letter of concerns after he had voiced frustration in a meeting with her over funding, she wasn’t party to the letter of concerns or Orr’s exit agreement.

Willis said she was also mindful of upholding the Reserve Bank’s independence.

The board is accountable to her. The Monetary Policy Committee, which sets the Official Cash Rate, is completely separate.

Willis noted she expressed her dissatisfaction over the board’s handling of the matter publicly and privately.

“I raised questions about the board’s approach to the original OIA [Official Information Act] response [in June], urging more transparency and querying omissions in their summary of events,” Willis said.

“They engaged a KC [King’s Counsel] and pushed back on my view, emphasising their operational independence in responding to OIA requests.

“I then raised this issue with the board in July and urged them to query the KC-generated legal advice they were relying on to justify their approach.

“They held fast to their view and the Ombudsman’s ruling proves they were wrong to do so.”

Willis said she also texted Quigley in July to point out a comment Victoria University law professor Dean Knight shared with the Herald.

Knight said: “Privacy or confidentiality obligations under employment law or exit agreements are not absolute reasons for withholding information.

“They’re a factor against disclosure but not a veto. They must still be weighed against the public interest in disclosure.”

Willis insisted on record being kept of meeting with Orr

Emails belatedly released by Willis’ office today under the OIA show she also wanted a key meeting that preceded Orr resigning documented.

One of her staffers emailed a Treasury staffer to say she wanted them to draft a “file note to record the actions/statements of the governor” at the meeting she attended with him, Quigley, Treasury head Iain Rennie and others on February 24.

“The minister is keen to check that this is indeed being done,” Willis’ staffer told Treasury.

On Wednesday, the public found out that Quigley ended up berating Treasury for taking minutes of the meeting and eventually releasing them under the OIA.

The minutes said Orr “expressed his frustration regarding the relationship between the RBNZ and the Treasury”. He then left the meeting early.

The “tenor of dialogue” in the meeting was one of the issues the board raised with Orr in its letter of concerns, which he disputed.

Another issue was about whether he would be able to do his job with less funding than he deemed necessary.

The third issue, which Orr didn’t dispute, was his lack of trust in the board, Willis and Treasury.

Neither Orr nor Quigley have commented since their resignations.

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.