Azaria Howell: Newstalk ZB reporter on the Government revealing the new Reserve Bank Governor

The new Reserve Bank Governor is pledging to build trust and credibility.

Sweden's Anna Breman has been announced to lead  the central bank, taking over from interim Governor Christian Hawkesby in December.

She'll be the first woman to ever hold the role - selected from more than 300 candidates who were initially identified.

Newstalk ZB reporter Azaria Howell says Breman has revealed the new core ideals of the RBNZ under her leadership - and has voiced her commitment to transparency. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we've got Ikea and now we have a Swede
at the top of the Reserve Bank at least from
December first, which is when her term starts. All announced
today by Nicola. What is the Finance Minister? Azaria Hall
is our senior political reporters Aaria, good afternoon, Good afternoon.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yes, this is a big.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Story baring a new chapter today, a new chapter in
New Zealand's history and a new chapter for the Reserve Bank.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
So that's the Minister of Finance, Nikola willis there as
you say, confirming the new Reserve Bank governor. Goodbye Adrian
or goodbye interim Governor Christian Hawksby Hello doctor Anna Breman.
So doctor Breman has been appointed the next governor of
the country Central Bank. She has a PhD in economics.
She was the Deputy Governor rather of Sweden Central Bank

(00:45):
since twenty nineteen, leading that through COVID SO an international
search was launched to find the right candidate. It initially
identified three hundred candidates. A long list then was created
of ten people. Four were shortlisted. The interviews with the
board in July and she was nominated. Here's the Minister
of Finance, Nikola Willis speaking about her work.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Doctor Breman brings to the role an impressive blend of
technical expertise and organizational leadership experience. She holds a PhD
in economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and has
previously been Group Chief Economist at Sweatbank, a leading Swedish
commercial bank. She has also worked at the Swedish Ministry

(01:29):
of Finance, the World Bank, and as an academic economist
in the United States.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
So she appeared in a press conference in the Beehive
theaterre at this afternoon speaking to New Zealand for the
first time with the Minister of Finance, and doctor Breman
has given us a sense of what we're in for
under her leadership.

Speaker 4 (01:46):
There, Sir Bank should and it will remain a source
of strength and stability for the New Zealand economy. Together
with the board and with style, we will achieve this
by focusing on our core mandate.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
And what are those sort of core ideals of the
Reserve Bank. While she says the first is price stability, we.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
Will stay laser focused on delivering on low and stable inflation.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
The other goals are promoting financial stability and a safe
and efficient payment system. So she's also spoken about the
importance of having a transparent reserve bank. This is an
important one. Have a listen to this.

Speaker 4 (02:29):
There are sour bank lists high in international rankings of transparency.
But I do believe that there is more work that
needs to be done. So we will strive for transparency,
accountability and clear communication within all the work that we do.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
And I'm sure this will be music to the ears
of so many people. I mean, there were questions about
when Adrian or resigned in terms of the transparency of
the Reserve Bank. So many people were asking where certain
pieces of detail were, information that may have been left
out of Official Information Act responses and things like that.
Hopefully it looks like that saga is behind us now.

(03:08):
There'll be someone at the helm very soon. So the
Minister of Finance, Nichola Willis, also confirmed that the opposition
was told of this appointment and she's confirmed they've had
no real issues with that. Labour's Barbara Edmunds says doctor
Breman has an impressive background, wishing her well for the role.
Also interestingly, this appointment makes doctor Breman the first woman
to be governor of New Zealand's Reserve Bank. Nikola Wellis

(03:31):
spoke a little bit about this today.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
We only ever want to be selected for a role
because we are the best candidate, not because of our gender. However,
it is also the case that it certainly makes a
difference when young women and girls can see that there
is no office that cannot be occupied by a woman.
And I am glad that my daughters will be raised

(03:54):
in a time where they can see that the Governor
of the Reserve Bank can be a man or a woman.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
And doctor Breman says she's confident on the economy, she's
looking forward to finding out more about New Zealand's culture
and history and also another big update a new chair
of the Reserve Bank that will be announced before the
end of the year.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
All right, very good, and we've got the mood of
the boardroom showing while Paul showing for the Prime Minister
he was ranked what fifteen sixteenth than his own cabinet
And the inevitable question does that mean there's going to
be a leadership thing, which is always a bit of
a dumb question, especially at a time like this for
a national party.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
I would have thought Zaria, Yeah, well, it has been
a hotly discussed topic today, but there is that. I mean,
there is a huge high threshold in terms of something
like this. So yes. The survey of one hundred and
fifty chief executives has ranked the Prime Minister Chris Luckson
fifteenth out of twenty eight ministers on performance. It puts
him in the bottom half of the table. He had
a rating of two point nine six out of five.

(04:50):
And Chris Luckson has answered some questions in terms of
his reaction to this. The main question from some will
you be standing down?

Speaker 5 (04:58):
No, no, I'm here to do a job and politics
four years ago because this is an awesome country. It's
got fantastic potential and we're damn we're going to go
make it or get realized.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
And the Prime Minister is also confident in how the
other ministers are doing.

Speaker 5 (05:10):
We decided we're going to play as a team and
that means we put my job as the Prime Minister
and as the leader of the team is to make
sure I've got the right people in the right positions
on the team at the right time.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
And also someone who had a poor display Chris Hipkins,
the labor leader. Hipkins was rated two out of five
on performance. More than seventy percent of business leaders giving
him a rating of just one or two out of five,
so that's worse than the PM. Meanwhile, Labour's finance spokes
to sim Barbara Edmunds, leads Labour's performance rankings. She's on
three point two out of five.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Zara appreciate that. Zara Halen Parliament.

Speaker 3 (05:42):
For more from Hither Duplassy Allen Drive.

Speaker 4 (05:45):
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Speaker 1 (05:46):
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