The Chief Ombudsman has completed his inquiry into complaints received on the RBNZ’s handling of Official Information Act (OIA) requests regarding former Governor Adrian Orr’s departure.
RBNZ Board Chair, Professor Neil Quigley, welcomes the Chief Ombudsman’s final opinion.
“Following his review of information withheld by the RBNZ from requests under the OIA for information relating to Adrian Orr’s departure, the Chief Ombudsman has asked us to release a timeline of events covered by this information but has not required any additional documents or other information to be released. The Chief Ombudsman has also provided guidance on the different grounds that applied to withhold information and where the public interest lies,” he says.
“We therefore conclude that apart from being late with our OIA responses, the approach we took in responding to OIA requests was a reasonable one to the requests and met the overall public interest by balancing transparency with privacy and other legitimate concerns.
“We thank requesters for their patience and for their interest in recent events at the RBNZ,” Professor Quigley says.
Below is a summary timeline of events relating to Mr Orr’s departure:
| Date | Summary |
|---|---|
| 20 February 2025 | Meeting between Professor Quigley, Mr Orr and Treasury officials regarding the five year funding agreement for the RBNZ. There was disagreement between Mr Orr and Treasury officials about the appropriate level of funding for the RBNZ. |
| 24 February 2025 |
Meeting between Professor Quigley, Mr Orr, the Minister of Finance and Treasury officials relating to: Capital requirements for banks Competition in banking The five year funding agreement for RBNZ |
| 24 February 2025 | Mr Orr emailed the RBNZ Board to relay his view of the discussions at the meeting with the Minister of Finance and to express his concerns about what level of funding was needed for RBNZ. Mr Orr stated that he considered that he was unable to perform his duties given the uncertainty over funding and described what he perceived as a lack of trust between the parties. |
| 26 February 2025 | Mr Orr emailed the RBNZ Board ahead of a meeting with the Board, stating that the Governor and the Board are at an impasse due to the disagreements over funding and that it was for the Board to take the next step. |
| 26 February 2025 | Mr Orr met with the RBNZ Board. Following this meeting Professor Quigley emailed Mr Orr advising that the Board intended to write to him with its concerns. |
| 27 February 2025 | Mr Orr advised the Board Chair that he will remain out of the Office until resolution of the matter and that Christian Hawkesby would be Acting Governor. This was agreed to by the Board. |
| 27 February 2025 | Professor Quigley, on behalf of the non-executive members of the Board, writes to Mr Orr to set out various concerns relating to: The tenor of dialogue at meetings with Treasury officials on 20 February and the Minister of Finance on 24 February 2025 His apparent lack of trust in the RBNZ Board, Minister of Finance and Treasury Whether he would be able to undertake his role with lesser funding The letter sought Mr Orr’s response to the concerns raised. |
| 3 March 2025 | Mr Orr rejected the assertions in the letter but accepted that he considered there was a lack of trust between the parties. |
| 5 March 2025 | An exit agreement was reached between Mr Orr and RBNZ, which included Mr Orr agreeing to resign and for the Board to withdraw the 27 February letter. |
| 6 March 2025 |
A paper was circulated to the RBNZ Board to: Approve the acceptance of the resignation of Adrian Orr Approve the exit agreement entered into Note the next steps are for the Board to recommend a temporary governor |
More information
OIA requests for information about the resignation of Adrian Or
OIAs on Adrian Orr's resignation as Governor
Media contact
Olivia Neill
Communications Adviser
[email protected]