Reserve Bank Completes First Stage Of Remit Review Consultation

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua – has ended the first round of public consultation on the monetary policy Remit Review. The Reserve Bank received feedback on a range of relevant issues from submitters. This feedback has helped determine the topics and areas under consideration for any possible changes to the remit.

“We were pleased with the feedback received. Written submission and workshops with people across New Zealand helped us understand the public’s considered and informed perspectives on a range of issues, including inflation and unemployment,” Chief Economist Paul Conway says.

In the first round of consultation, we asked New Zealanders for their views about the economy, what matters to them, and how the decisions we make can affect their daily lives.

We are using that feedback to narrow down recommended options for the future Remit that guides the decision making of our Monetary Policy Committee. Every five years, we review the Remit to make sure it is robust and relevant to future changes in the economy.

The consultation window opened on 1 June 2022 alongside the release of the first consultation paper, ’Supporting New Zealand’s economic stability – Toitū te Ōhanga’, and closed on 15 July 2022. The consultation paper set out the high-level issues and options for any potential redesign of the Remit. It asked questions around broad themes relevant to the Remit, such as economic wellbeing; achieving price stability and maximum sustainable employment; and the broader context for monetary policy.

The Reserve Bank has today published a Summary of Submissions from the First Public Consultation presenting the key issues and themes. Individual submissions, survey results, and a summary of the discussion workshops carried out by an independent research group (Kantar) have also been published on the Reserve Bank’s website alongside the summary of submissions.

Read more about the consultation.

“We’re grateful for the valuable views and insights raised in the public submissions, including some expert perspectives which we will factor into the next stages of our work on the Remit review,” Mr Conway says.
Following the first consultation, the Minister of Finance was provided with advice on the scope of the review. The Minister discussed this with Reserve Bank officials and endorsed the proposed set of topics and scope of the Remit advice.

“We expect to conclude the second round of consultation by early next year and following that we will finalise advice for the Minister of Finance,” Mr Conway says.

More information

• Summary of submissions from the first public consultation
• Dynata Report (online survey to understand public preferences around inflation and unemployment)
• Kantar Report (discussion workshops in Auckland, Wellington, Napier and Christchurch)
• Individual submissions
• Survey Monkey submissions
• Report on the scope of advise on the Monetary Policy Committee's remit
• Report on additional monetary policy tools in the scope of advise
• Letter from the Minister of Finance to the Governor

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