Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced that former acting Reserve Bank Governor Grant Spencer has been appointed to the central bank’s board.
Spencer retired from the Reserve Bank in 2018, after he was deputy Governor and head of financial stability from 2007 to 2017. He was acting Governor over the six months to March 2018.
NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan unpacks what Nicola Willis is indirectly saying through this announcement.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editors with us high Thomas.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Good afternoon.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
See Grant Spencer's back.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yes, Grant Spencer is back. So the former acting Reserve
Bank Governor, who was obviously out of the picture under
the Adrian or regime, has now returned. So he has
been appointed to the Reserve Bank Reserve Bank Board by
Finance Minister Nicola Willis for a five year term. Will
be very interesting to see what he does there. He
(00:26):
actually spoke to me on my podcast a little while
ago fairly critical of the Bank's COVID era stimulus, that
money printing and the low interest rates that clearly caused
a massive housing bubble in twenty twenty one. So he
told us back in twenty twenty two that that clearly
the bank got that wrong, and I think has probably
(00:47):
been born out as having the correct view on that.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Interesting. What's nice to have somebody on the board who
actually like this is his bread and butter, right, this
is the thing that he's an expert in.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, it is. You know, I think it's been maybe
the better part of a decade now that you've You've
had a lot of criticism from the likes of I
think Eric Crampton at the New Zealand Initiative was one
of the big critics of just the lack of expertise
at the Bank itself and Treasury to across the road
at Treasury as well, just a declining influence of economists
(01:21):
and a bit of a mission mission drift. So I
think here Nicola Willis, if you if you read the
tea leaves and ask yourself, what's Nichola Willis? What's the
messages she's sending. She's probably sending a message of you know,
back to basics to please.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Now speaking of what did she say this morning?
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Speaking of Yeah, she went on on neck Mills on
the Wellington's Wellington Mornings with with the emails this morning
and was asked, you know, as as as as a
lot of politicians are asked down here, what does she
think of the vibes of Wellington and was pretty frank
that that the city's you know, feeling a bit glum.
But she pointed the finger at the council and was
pretty critical of the rates that Wellingtons and Wellington businesses pay.
(02:02):
And we've actually, if you'll pardon a bit of cross
promotion here on the herolds. We did, we did a
bit of digging onto those rates and they are really
high in Wellington. Wellington's average commercial rates bill was forty
seven thousand dollars. Comparing that compares to twenty thousand dollars
in Auckland in eighteen thousand. In christ Change, it's nearly
(02:23):
doubled in about sixty years. So Wellington businesses, Wellington commercial
landlords are really feeling it down here and it does
sort of speak to some of the malaise that you
see on the streets. So that was interesting that she
chose to raise that issue because obviously she cops a
bit of flack for the public service cuts, which obviously
won't be helping. But the council probably has a bit
of a bit of blame that it has to wear
(02:44):
as well, a bit of blame Thomas, a bit of
quite a lot of blame.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Well, thank you, Thomas. Now, what do you make of
the idea of partially privatizing the enter Islander service?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I look, I don't, I don't hate that idea. You'd
have to say the Blue Bridge. The Blue Bridge theories,
which have been running for a long time in Wellington
have been running pretty well and Key Rail who have
been running the inter islander service have have you know,
I think customer actually just say well, you can probably
(03:16):
say that I thank you. They they have displeased customers
and that even displeased their owners. I don't think the
government likes them like.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I guess Winnie p who loves a bit of you know,
national ownership of an assets, is not going to partially privatize,
is he?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
No, that is it is Winston Peters is very long
held views on privatization or partial privatization, so he is
not going to move in that direction. Ax is very
keen to move in that direction introduce a bit of
private capital. And the National Party I'd say the National
Party are more keen on it than not. And Nicola
Willisons sort of made some supportive sounds, but it hasn't
(03:53):
really committed to anything.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
No, no, because they're planning to run on it for
the next or I don't know if they're going to
run on it, but they're certainly planning to execute it
in the second term.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Right, it's that the mood music is being played very
loudly for a discussion about asset sales from the National
Party at the next election. I'd look at places like
Land Corp. And qv things like that, and maybe the
Urreland is when they eventually arrive in twenty twenty nine. If, perhaps,
perhaps if is better than when.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Yeah, yeah, I like that. Thank you very much, Thomas appreciated.
Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editor.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editors with us high Thomas.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Good afternoon.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
See Grant Spencer's back.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yes, Grant Spencer is back. So the former acting Reserve
Bank Governor, who was obviously out of the picture under
the Adrian or regime, has now returned. So he has
been appointed to the Reserve Bank Reserve Bank Board by
Finance Minister Nicola Willis for a five year term. Will
be very interesting to see what he does there. He
(00:26):
actually spoke to me on my podcast a little while
ago fairly critical of the Bank's COVID era stimulus, that
money printing and the low interest rates that clearly caused
a massive housing bubble in twenty twenty one. So he
told us back in twenty twenty two that that clearly
the bank got that wrong, and I think has probably
(00:47):
been born out as having the correct view on that.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Interesting. What's nice to have somebody on the board who
actually like this is his bread and butter, right, this
is the thing that he's an expert in.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, it is. You know, I think it's been maybe
the better part of a decade now that you've You've
had a lot of criticism from the likes of I
think Eric Crampton at the New Zealand Initiative was one
of the big critics of just the lack of expertise
at the Bank itself and Treasury to across the road
at Treasury as well, just a declining influence of economists
(01:21):
and a bit of a mission mission drift. So I
think here Nicola Willis, if you if you read the
tea leaves and ask yourself, what's Nichola Willis? What's the
messages she's sending. She's probably sending a message of you know,
back to basics to please.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Now speaking of what did she say this morning?
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Speaking of Yeah, she went on on neck Mills on
the Wellington's Wellington Mornings with with the emails this morning
and was asked, you know, as as as as a
lot of politicians are asked down here, what does she
think of the vibes of Wellington and was pretty frank
that that the city's you know, feeling a bit glum.
But she pointed the finger at the council and was
pretty critical of the rates that Wellingtons and Wellington businesses pay.
(02:02):
And we've actually, if you'll pardon a bit of cross
promotion here on the herolds. We did, we did a
bit of digging onto those rates and they are really
high in Wellington. Wellington's average commercial rates bill was forty
seven thousand dollars. Comparing that compares to twenty thousand dollars
in Auckland in eighteen thousand. In christ Change, it's nearly
(02:23):
doubled in about sixty years. So Wellington businesses, Wellington commercial
landlords are really feeling it down here and it does
sort of speak to some of the malaise that you
see on the streets. So that was interesting that she
chose to raise that issue because obviously she cops a
bit of flack for the public service cuts, which obviously
won't be helping. But the council probably has a bit
of a bit of blame that it has to wear
(02:44):
as well, a bit of blame Thomas, a bit of
quite a lot of blame.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Well, thank you, Thomas. Now, what do you make of
the idea of partially privatizing the enter Islander service?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I look, I don't, I don't hate that idea. You'd
have to say the Blue Bridge. The Blue Bridge theories,
which have been running for a long time in Wellington
have been running pretty well and Key Rail who have
been running the inter islander service have have you know,
I think customer actually just say well, you can probably
(03:16):
say that I thank you. They they have displeased customers
and that even displeased their owners. I don't think the
government likes them like.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I guess Winnie p who loves a bit of you know,
national ownership of an assets, is not going to partially privatize,
is he?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
No, that is it is Winston Peters is very long
held views on privatization or partial privatization, so he is
not going to move in that direction. Ax is very
keen to move in that direction introduce a bit of
private capital. And the National Party I'd say the National
Party are more keen on it than not. And Nicola
Willisons sort of made some supportive sounds, but it hasn't
(03:53):
really committed to anything.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
No, no, because they're planning to run on it for
the next or I don't know if they're going to
run on it, but they're certainly planning to execute it
in the second term.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Right, it's that the mood music is being played very
loudly for a discussion about asset sales from the National
Party at the next election. I'd look at places like
Land Corp. And qv things like that, and maybe the
Urreland is when they eventually arrive in twenty twenty nine. If, perhaps,
perhaps if is better than when.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Yeah, yeah, I like that. Thank you very much, Thomas appreciated.
Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editor.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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