{"id":279681,"date":"2026-02-12T02:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T02:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/279681\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T02:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T02:04:16","slug":"willis-denies-claims-timing-a-bit-sus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/279681\/","title":{"rendered":"Willis denies claims timing ‘a bit sus’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has denied playing politics with her announcement that a review into the Reserve Bank\u2019s Covid response would be released in September, just months before the election. <\/p>\n

The probe, announced yesterday, aimed to examine the Reserve Bank\u2019s actions<\/a> during the pandemic to \u201clearn from experience\u201d. <\/p>\n

The central bank slashed the official cash rate (OCR) \u2013 which influences mortgage rates and broader borrowing costs \u2013 to a record low, and also launched a large-scale asset purchase programme, a form of quantitative easing where it bought government bonds to inject money into the economy.<\/p>\n

Willis said yesterday those actions helped save jobs and businesses, but came with significant consequences. Criticism has long been levelled at the Reserve Bank for its choices, which some blamed for a deeper economic rut in more recent times.<\/p>\n

A review into the bank\u2019s response was largely supported by parties on both sides of the House, but its September release \u2013 as parties go into campaign mode and Kiwis prepare to vote in November \u2013 was more contentious. <\/p>\n

\"Green<\/p>\n

Green co-leader Chl\u00f6e Swarbrick (left) and Finance Minister Nicola Willis (right). (Source: 1News\/Getty) (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

Green Party co-leader Chl\u00f6e Swarbrick described the timing as \u201ca bit sus\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis independent review is something which we would have absolutely welcomed, and to be honest, largely still do,\u201d she told Breakfast this morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I think that the timing of it speaks to a Minister of Finance and a Government that wants to continue reminding people of Covid-19 in the lead-up to the election. <\/p>\n

\u201cAre we really going to have all too much time to properly digest and have a fully informed, evidence-based debate about economics? Unfortunately, given my experience of politics in the last 10 years, I don\u2019t really think so.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Green<\/p>\n

Green Party co-leader Chl\u00f6e Swarbrick. (Hagen Hopkins)<\/p>\n

Swarbrick said she had been calling for an inquiry back at the start of 2022 and believed the Government could have done it sooner. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do not genuinely think that Nicola Willis is interested in attending to or dealing with inequality that was created throughout the Covid 19 pandemic, let alone the inequality that she\u2019s created through her own government\u2019s decisions. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it really has to be again this basic question of how much information are we getting into the public sphere in a way that is useful and conducive for the election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins called Willis\u2019 announcement \u201canother exercise in cynical political manipulation\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf she really wanted to know whether the Reserve Bank had handled the Covid pandemic accurately, she would have launched this inquiry when she became Minister of Finance, not right in the middle of a general election campaign.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Labour<\/p>\n

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Finance and Economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds before making the Future Fund announcement on October 20, 2025. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

He said it was an attempt to \u201cre-liven up the Covid-19 conspiracy theorists\u201d, and said National was becoming \u201cdesperate\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that they can get their hands on, they\u2019re grabbing it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Responding to Swarbrick\u2019s comments, Labour\u2019s Kieran McAnulty said the release was \u201cmore than a bit sus, it\u2019s pretty bloody obvious what they\u2019re trying to do\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re looking for distractions, just like they have for the last two years, and people are seeing through it.” <\/p>\n

Willis responds: ‘It’s a good time’<\/p>\n

\"Finance<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

When asked on Breakfast today, Willis denied playing politics. <\/p>\n

She said the review would not be political, with impartial monetary policy experts – Athanasios Orphanides and David Archer – appointed. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not going to write a report that is political, because what they are is professors and people with strong experience in monetary policy.\u201d <\/p>\n

Willis said there were questions that \u201cshould be asked\u201d, adding that all sides of politics should be able to \u201cdigest those lessons without having to feel that it\u2019s all very political\u201d. <\/p>\n

Defending the timing of the release, Willis said it was a \u201cfactor\u201d of the Government\u2019s commitment to conduct the review within its first term. <\/p>\n

The last few years have been difficult for the Reserve Bank, marked by the chaotic exit of former Governor Adrian Orr and the process of hiring and appointing his successor, Dr Anna Breman<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"Finance<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Nicola Willis and incoming Reserve Bank Governor Dr Anna Breman. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was a good idea to be launching an inquiry while we were doing that recruitment process,\u201d Willis said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing now is that we have a new governor, we have a refreshed Reserve Bank board. It\u2019s a good time to be doing a pause, a review, a learn.\u201d <\/p>\n

She said the Reserve Bank’s policy during the pandemic was to support the economy, \u201cand it clearly did that\u201d, but wanted to see if it went too far or was \u201cabout right\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must learn the lessons of history, and we can\u2019t just have the Reserve Bank marking their own homework.\u201d <\/p>\n

Housing Minister Chris Bishop told Breakfast there were \u201cbig impacts\u201d because of the bank\u2019s moves during Covid, and said there had been \u201ccalls from many people to have a good look at it\u201d. <\/p>\n

On the criticism about its timing, he said: \u201cPeople will see in it what they want to see, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including the girlfriend caught up in an Olympic cheating scandal speaks, and the place no one wants to see a shark. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Finance Minister Nicola Willis has denied playing politics with her announcement that a review into the Reserve Bank\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[111794,40096,219,42,43,135,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-279681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-chloe-swarbrick","9":"tag-coronavirus-pandemic","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}