Introduction
Tēna koutou katoa.
Thank you for joining us today to discuss New Zealand's new monetary policy framework.
The recent amendment to the Reserve Bank's legislation sets up a Monetary Policy Committee that is responsible for a new dual mandate of keeping consumer price inflation low and stable, and supporting maximum sustainable employment.
The Committee's deliberation process will ensure that all decisions benefit from a diverse range of views, and offer greater transparency and accountability to monetary policy decisionmaking.
Before I outline the features of the new framework and its underlying principles, I would like to paint the backdrop to this institutional change.
The business of central banking is evolving as circumstances change. Some of the change is favourable, some is confronting.