The announcement of an independent review into the Reserve Bank’s response to the economic effects of the Covid-19 restrictions is long overdue. However, like all reviews, questions arise around the political motivations of those calling for an inquiry.

First, the timing. Why is this review taking place now? Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, requested an inquiry of the Reserve Bank’s performance in 2022 while he was still leader of the opposition. Almost four years since his request, and two and a half years after entering government, the inquiry is finally announced. A cynic might think the timing was deliberately set to coincide with election-time excuses for poor economic performance.

Second, the outcomes. While the purpose of the inquiry may be to investigate the decision making that led the Reserve Bank to take the actions that it did, it seems the outcomes are predetermined. Christopher Luxon has already announced that the Reserve Bank actions included the “excessive printing of cash” which resulted in “economic carnage”. This may be true but do we need an inquiry if the outcome is already decided?

Third, the ‘independent’ inquirers. There is never such a thing as an ‘independent’ inquiry. The inquirers come with their own beliefs. There has been some criticism that one of the panel members, Athanasios Orphanides is a member of the libertarian Atlas Network. That is fine in itself - but he has views. He is not independent. The idea that the inquiry will result in an undisputed single source of truth is a nonsense. Like all reviews and inquiries, the outcomes are highly dependent on the worldview of the inquirers themselves – making them anything but independent.

However, that is the nature of the human, so we will eagerly await the findings of the inquiry, better late than never.

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