Chris Hipkins, Nicola Willis and Neil Quigley. Photo: Angus Dreaver / Nick Monro / Samuel Rillstone / RNZ
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has labelled the handling of the resignation of the Reserve Bank governor as a "complete debacle".
Speaking to RNZ's Morning Report, he said that Minister of Finance Nicola Willis had to bear some responsibility for any hits to the credibility of the bank.
His comments come after she released a statement on Friday announcing the resignation of the bank's chair Neil Quigley. The statement said it was "the appropriate time for him to hand over", but soon after she told RNZ she would have demanded his resignation had it not been offered.
Quigley's resignation stems partly from his mischaracterisation of the resignation of the central bank's governor Adrian Orr in March.
At the time of Orr's resignation, Quigley characterised it as being Orr's "personal decision", but the bank later revealed the departure was largely due to a disagreement with the board over the Reserve Bank's funding.
Hipkins told RNZ Willis was aware "that Neil Quigley as chair of the Reserve Bank was not telling the truth when he was doing interviews and presenting the facts to the New Zealand public".
"She did nothing about it until the ombudsman forced the release of the information and then suddenly Nicola Willis said Neil Quigley had to resign.
"If he had to resign when the information became public, why is it he didn't have to resign when Nicola Willis knew what was going on and did nothing about it?"
Willis has said it was inappropriate for the minister to become involved in employment matters between the board and governor of the Reserve Bank.
But Hipkins told RNZ: "She was involved. She was involved in the employment dispute. She knew what the facts of the matter were - that is now very clear - and she chose to allow Neil Quigley to continue to mislead the New Zealand public."
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday said he still had confidence in the management of the Reserve Bank.
"I think it would've been more damaging if action hadn't been taken and the chair hadn't stepped down, so I think from my point of view, the Reserve Bank is a very robust body, it's not unusual to have a chair and a CEO resign at the same time, it happens in the business world all the time."
Asked about the reputational damage to the Reserve Bank, Luxon said he had confidence in the bank's strong experience in management.
"I think the chair leaving was a good call because it avoided any risk of any reputational damage to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. I think that… it's got to the right decision in the end."
Willis said she expected the "highest levels of transparency and public accountability" from organisations she worked with and "this matter should have been handled better.".
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