Labour ‘actively weighing’ the reinstatement of dual RBNZ monetary policy objectives

Labour Party Considers Restoring Reserve Bank's Dual Mandate

Barbara Edmonds, Labour's spokesperson on finance, has indicated she is giving serious thought to reinstating the Reserve Bank's responsibility to pursue both price stability and maximum sustainable employment. In a recent interview with the NZ Herald, Edmonds revealed she is actively weighing the possibility of returning to a dual mandate, which would require the Reserve Bank to focus on both controlling inflation and supporting employment levels.

This approach was previously adopted by the Labour-NZ First coalition in 2018, when then-Finance Minister Grant Robertson expanded the Reserve Bank's objectives to include maximum sustainable employment alongside inflation targeting.