I'm neither happy or unhappy that Adrian Orr is no longer Reserve Bank Governor, but I do have a piece of advice for whoever ends up taking over from him.  

Just be the complete opposite.   

Because I reckon he fell into a trap that ended up with him getting too big for his boots. Which, maybe, is very hard to avoid when you’re in a job like his, but the next person needs to make sure they stay in their lane and keeps themselves in check.  

When you’re the Reserve Bank Governor, your job is to work on creating a rock star economy - you’re not the rock star yourself.  

No one can argue that his tenure coincided with a time when what you would consider to be the most grey and dull jobs in the world, took on a whole new meaning.  

Ashley Bloomfield, for example. Because of COVID, everyone knew who he was.   

And Adrian Orr. Because of COVID, he was elevated to a level no other reserve bank governor got to in terms of profile and recognition.  

If you ask me to name another Reserve Bank Governor, the only name that comes to my head straight away is Don Brash. That’s because of his political career that he got into after he left the bank.  

And if I think a little bit more, there’s Alan Bollard. But that's it.  

But everyone pretty much knows who Adrian Orr is and I think it went to his head. I think he loved the limelight, and, in the process, he got a bit too cocky. I think he lost sight of what his job was actually all about.  

Nevertheless, I don’t think he personally is to blame for everything when it comes to us feeling more hard up than ever.  

And, if he hadn’t fallen into the trap of letting the job go to his head, he might not be copping as much criticism as he has and is. 

I’m with economist Tony Alexander who is saying today that business people and homeowners who blame Orr for their cashflow problems are both right and wrong.  

He’s saying that they're right in that he oversaw the continuation of excessively loose spending during 2021 and into 2022, which over-stimulated the economy and pushed inflation up to 7.3%.  

He also was boss of the Reserve Bank when the official cash rate reached 5.5%. And then got it down to 2.2% by what Tony Alexander describes as Orr “crunching the economy”.  

But he also says, let’s not forget Labour’s Grant Robertson’s role in all of this.  

He was the guy who kept fiscal policy loose.  

My understanding is that staff at the Reserve Bank had no idea this was coming until after it was announced to the media. Which is a shocker. And, apparently, staff at the bank have no idea what’s behind it.  

I’m picking that he’s thrown his toys out of the cot because the Government wants to cut the budgets at the Reserve Bank. And a lot of that will have to do with what the Government probably sees as the former Governor’s obsession with things outside what it considers core business for the central bank.  

But, from the very limited things that have been said since the announcement yesterday afternoon, it’s obvious that he’s quit.  

Because when the chair of the bank Neil Quigley said it was “a personal decision” by Adrian Orr, that says he’s quit. It doesn't say he’s leaving for personal reasons, it says he’s walking away.  

He’s going to be on the payroll until the end of the month, but he’s not Governor of the bank anymore. An acting Governor took over at midday yesterday.  

The other thing too about all this secrecy, is that I don't think it’s acceptable when you’ve got a senior public servant who earns more than $800,000 a year quitting like this.  

On the basis of what we kind-of know, I think we deserve more of an explanation.  

If the guy’s thrown a hissy fit - tell us. Because, for someone who seemed to love the limelight as much as he did, disappearing the way he has is not only very strange, it’s also somewhat disrespectful. 

I'm neither happy or unhappy that Adrian Orr is no longer Reserve Bank Governor, but I do have a piece of advice for whoever ends up taking over from him. &nbsp;
Just be the complete opposite. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Because I reckon he fell into a trap that ended up with him getting too big for his boots. Which, maybe, is very hard to avoid when you’re in a job like his, but the next person needs to make sure they stay in their lane and keeps themselves in check. &nbsp;
When you’re the Reserve Bank Governor, your job is to work on creating a rock star economy - you’re not the rock star yourself. &nbsp;
No one can argue that his tenure coincided with a time when what you would consider to be the most grey and dull jobs in the world, took on a whole new meaning. &nbsp;
Ashley Bloomfield, for example. Because of COVID, everyone knew who he was. &nbsp;&nbsp;
And Adrian Orr. Because of COVID, he was elevated to a level no other reserve bank governor got to in terms of profile and recognition. &nbsp;
If you ask me to name another Reserve Bank Governor, the only name that comes to my head straight away is Don Brash. That’s because of his political career that he got into after he left the bank. &nbsp;
And if I think a little bit more, there’s Alan Bollard. But that's it. &nbsp;
But everyone pretty much knows who Adrian Orr is and I think it went to his head. I think he loved the limelight, and, in the process, he got a bit too cocky. I think he lost sight of what his job was actually all about. &nbsp;
Nevertheless, I don’t think he personally is to blame for everything when it comes to us feeling more hard up than ever. &nbsp;
And, if he hadn’t fallen into the trap of letting the job go to his head, he might not be copping as much criticism as he has and is.&nbsp;
I’m with economist Tony Alexander who is saying today that business people and homeowners who blame Orr for their cashflow problems are both right and wrong. &nbsp;
He’s saying that they're right in that he oversaw the continuation of excessively loose spending during 2021 and into 2022, which over-stimulated the economy and pushed inflation up to 7.3%. &nbsp;
He also was boss of the Reserve Bank when the official cash rate reached 5.5%. And then got it down to 2.2% by what Tony Alexander describes as Orr “crunching the economy”. &nbsp;
But he also says, let’s not forget Labour’s Grant Robertson’s role in all of this. &nbsp;
He was the guy who kept fiscal policy loose. &nbsp;
My understanding is that staff at the Reserve Bank had no idea this was coming until after it was announced to the media. Which is a shocker. And, apparently, staff at the bank have no idea what’s behind it. &nbsp;
I’m picking that he’s thrown his toys out of the cot because the Government wants to cut the budgets at the Reserve Bank. And a lot of that will have to do with what the Government probably sees as the former Governor’s obsession with things outside what it considers core business for the central bank. &nbsp;
But, from the very limited things that have been said since the announcement yesterday afternoon, it’s obvious that he’s quit. &nbsp;
Because when the chair of the bank Neil Quigley said it was “a personal decision” by Adrian Orr, that says he’s quit. It doesn't say he’s leaving for personal reasons, it says he’s walking away. &nbsp;
He’s going to be on the payroll until the end of the month, but he’s not Governor of the bank anymore. An acting Governor took over at midday yesterday. &nbsp;
The other thing too about all this secrecy, is that I don't think it’s acceptable when you’ve got a senior public servant who earns more than $800,000 a year quitting like this. &nbsp;
On the basis of what we kind-of know, I think we deserve more of an explanation. &nbsp;
If the guy’s thrown a hissy fit - tell us. Because, for someone who seemed to love the limelight as much as he did, disappearing the way he has is not only very strange, it’s also somewhat disrespectful.&nbsp;

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.

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Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays. It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking. If it’s news you’re after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news – you will not beat local radio. With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector. Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

John MacDonald: Orr's job was to re-build the rock star economy - not be the rock star

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/7cb77a82-9160-47a3-af58-b29701853f97/transcript