John MacDonald: What's your advice to the new Reserve Bank Governor?

What’s your message to the new Reserve Bank Governor?   Dr Anna Breman is moving from Sweden to take up the job and will begin her five-year term at the start of December.   I thought it was interesting to hear her say yesterday that one of the first things she plans to do is to travel around the country to meet and listen to people.   She says she wants to meet people in regular households and students, to hear what they’ve got to say.    What would you tell her? What do you think she needs to know?   Back in March, when Adrian Orr quit, my advice to whoever eventually took over was to be the complete opposite of him.   To make sure they stayed in their lane and kept themselves in check. Because when you’re the Reserve Bank governor, your job is to be part of creating a rock star economy – you’re not the rock star yourself.  What I heard yesterday gives me confidence that Dr Breman is going to do exactly that. Keep the ego under control, but more importantly, actually listen to what’s going on.   The fact that one of the first things she plans to do is go around the country and talk to people like you and me, I think that’s brilliant.   But it can’t just be a one-off. She needs to be in Christchurch and Auckland pretty much all the time, as well as Wellington and other parts of the country. Because Auckland and Christchurch are the two powerhouses of New Zealand’s economy.    If I had half an hour with Dr Breman, I’d tell her that she needs to get out of Wellington and talk to real people on a regular basis. To see what people are paying at the supermarket check-outs, to see what people are paying for power, and not just read about it in reports written by officials who can still afford to buy their coffees and lunches and nights out at the weekend.    I suppose what I’m saying is that Dr Breman needs to be a Reserve Bank Governor of the people. That might be a tall order but that’s what I’d say.  The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.