RBNZ's Bollard gets second term

New Zealand's finance minister, Michael Cullen, reappointed Alan Bollard for a second five-year term, the Reserve Bank announced.

Dr Bollard took over from Don Brash in 2002 and can now look forward to a second term that should run to September 2012. He and Dr Cullen also signed an unchanged Policy Targets Agreement (PTA).

"Alan has demonstrated his integrity and outstanding general management skills in performing his duties as governor over the past five years so I am pleased to accept the Reserve Bank Board's recommendation to reappoint him for another five year term," said Dr Cullen.

"As Minister of Finance my priority is to maintain a disciplined fiscal policy approach to help the Governor achieve the inflation outcomes in the PTA," he added. Dr Bollard said, modestly, he was pleased to accept another term as Governor of the Reserve Bank.

A picture of harmony and the model for central bank-government relations around the world? Perhaps. But not according to Rodney Dickens, an economist based in New Zealand and "RBNZ-watcher". Writing in his "Ravings" series a week before Bollard's reappointment, Dickens severely criticised Bollard's performance especially in the run up to the 2005 election.

To read Dickens' assessment of the Bollard era, see the article in the "Comment from around the world" section in Central Bank News or simply click here.