Adrian Orr: Tackling inflation during a pandemic

Speech by Mr Adrian Orr, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, to the Waikato University NZ Economics Forum, Hamilton, 25 February 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
01 March 2022

I would like to acknowledge with thanks principal author Mac McKenna and the wider Economics and Research departments, and other reviewers and contributors from Te Pūtea Matua 

Introduction

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Central banks around the world are currently being confronted by a challenge we have not experienced for some time: high and sustained inflationary pressure. While the inflationary challenge is a familiar one, the environment within which we are tackling it is unique and uncertain.

In this speech I will touch on the context for the Monetary Policy Committee's decision this week, and the key monetary policy challenges facing the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua – ahead.