17 March 2022
Adam Irish
Via email: [FYI request #18629 email] Dear Adam
Thank you for your request of 22 February 2022 to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea
Matua made under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for the following information:
1. What advice has the RBNZ provided inturnally that forecasts the impact that increasing
the OCR will have on house prices.
2. What advice has the RBNZ provided decision makers on inflation being driven by genuine
offshore supply disruptions and shortages as opposed to excessive domestic demand and
current monetary policy settings.
3. Lastly has the bank looked at other leavers as opposed to just the OCR to combat
inflationary pressures.
Response
Parts one and two of your request are being withheld under the following sections of the OIA:
Section 9(2)(d) – withholding the information is necessary to avoid prejudice to the
substantial economic interests of New Zealand.
The advice concerns the development of monetary policy. The Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) makes decisions based on advice provided by the RBNZ. In this context, the release of
the advice and information may have unintended and distortionary effects on financial markets.
The financial sector trades on the basis of its perception of the RBNZ’s view of market
conditions, and how it intends to respond to those. The RBNZ is therefore very careful about
how it conveys information to the market.
Section 9(2)(g)(i) – withholding the information is necessary to ensure the free and frank
expression of opinions by RBNZ staff in the course of developing monetary policy
recommendations.
An integral part of the development of monetary policy forecasts and judgements is the
encouragement of vigorous internal debate. If details of internal debates and reviews were
disclosed, staff would be less likely to provide free and frank views. This would diminish the
quality of the debates and ultimately of the advice available to the MPC in discharging its role.
The RBNZ has a statutory duty to make official information available unless there is good
reason for withholding it. However, the RBNZ has publicly released information on its
forecasting and information about the tools it uses to address inflationary pressures. We do
Ref #3299666 v1.1
not consider the additional public interest in releasing the advice as requested to outweigh the
reasons in favour of withholding it. As such, in terms of section 9(1) of the OIA, I am satisfied
that the withholding of this information is not outweighed by other considerations that render
it desirable to make the information available in the public interest.
To assist you, we have created a table with details of publicly available information relating to
both the OCR and house prices. This includes links to the 23 February 2022 Monetary Policy
Statement and to a speech the RBNZ Governor delivered on 25 February 2022 in which he
discussed both global and domestic inflationary pressures.
Date
Title/document
Link
25/02/2022 Speech by RBNZ Governor
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-
on global and domestic
publications/speeches/2022/speech2022-02-25
inflationary pressures
23/02/2022 Monetary Policy
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-
Statement, February 2022
policy/monetary-policy-statement/mps-
february-2022
23/02/2022 OCR decisions and current
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-
rate
policy/official-cash-rate-decisions
2/11/2021 Measures for assessing the
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-
sustainability of house
publications/analytical-notes/2021/an2021-08
prices in New Zealand
30/08/2021 Monetary policy pass-
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-
through to mortgage rates
publications/analytical-notes/2021/an2021-07
2/08/2021 Reserve Bank response to
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-
FEC questions about
publications/information-releases/2021/ir-
house price projections –
2021-04
Introduction, August 2021
NA
Links to all Monetary
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-
Policy Statements
policy/monetary-policy-statement
In regards to part three of your request, the OCR is the primary tool used by the MPC to address
upward inflationary pressures. Information about the RBNZ’s monetary policy tools, particularly
in the context of a global pandemic, is available on the RBNZ’s website at
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-publications/reserve-bank-bulletin/2021/rbb2021-
84-01.
The OIA allows charges to be imposed for the preparation of information in response to
requests. The Reserve Bank is resourced to meet disclosure obligations for a reasonable level
of requests and the cost of providing free responses to official information requests is generally
borne by taxpayers. However, the Reserve Bank believes that requesters should bear some of
the costs, where allowable under the OIA, when requests are made for large amounts of
information, where a response is particularly complex, or where individuals or organisations
make frequent requests. In this instance, no charge is being made under the OIA.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review of this response by the Ombudsman, in
accordance with section 28(3) of the OIA. The relevant details can be found on the
Ombudsman’s website at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Please note that we intend to publish a copy of this response on the Reserve Bank’s website:
www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-publications/official-information-requests. Responses to
requests are published in order to improve public transparency and provide an additional
resource for anyone seeking information.
Yours sincerely
Ross Francis
Ministerial and OIA Advisor, Government and Industry Relations
Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua
