In about two weeks, Finance Minister Bill English is expected to sign a new policy targets agreement with incoming Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler. The agreement is not expected to raise too many eye- brows in the capital's economic circles, although it might contain some surprises.
Last week, retiring bank governor Alan Bollard seemed to deliberately go out of his way to not tie Mr Wheeler down to any targets when releasing his final monetary policy statement and retaining the official cash rate at 2.5%.
Given the rapid changes that can happen anywhere in the world as central banks in Europe and the United States step in to help stimulate their ailing economies, New Zealand's hands appear tied.
Even though two powerful central banks last week delivered extra-strong monetary policy, the global economy will still need a lot more time to recover from its thumping debt hangover. Financial markets were euphoric after the Federal Reserve surpassed expectations and promised on Thursday to keep the money taps fully open until the US labour market makes a sustained recovery. The European Central Bank had already impressed investors a week earlier by pre-announcing unlimited, albeit conditional, secondary-market purchases to bring down sky-high yields on bonds issued by struggling euro zone members such as Spain.
Now it is time to come down to earth.
There were generous hints from political and Reserve Bank circles that minor changes might be made to New Zealand's policy target agreement, which calls on the governor to keep inflation between a 1% to 3% range. The ability of the Reserve Bank to effectively look through any unusual or unexpected occurrences that push inflation either below 1% or above 3% is both a godsend and a hindrance.
With the official cash rate at 2.5%, and Australia's cash rate at 3.5%, the attractiveness of investment returns has kept the value of transtasman currencies high, hurting economic growth in the region. In many instances, economists have called for the Reserve Bank to take firmer action than just trying to "jawbone" the currency's value down.
Exporters reliant on a weaker dollar to make their goods competitive have long bemoaned the strength of the dollar and the way it has hurt their sales in markets.
Falling demand, because of the European cash crisis, has not helped an export-led recovery.
Opposition politicians have been particularly virulent in their criticism of the Government's lack of action regarding the strength of the dollar, quoting the harm it is doing to the country's recovery, growth and labour market.
To be fair, the New Zealand economy is in reasonable shape compared with those in need of a European Central Bank bail-out, but that does not make it any easier for our productive sector.
When you realise the US Fed is printing $US40 billion ($NZ48 billion), a month - around a quarter of New Zealand's annual gross domestic product - to prop up its economy, the size of the task facing Mr Wheeler becomes obvious.
Mr Wheeler is highly thought of in government and economic circles and is expected to lift the standard of economic debate considerably once he is established in his new job. Some of the minor changes that could, and perhaps should, be included in the new policy targets agreement are those allowing the governor to take a wider view of the economy.
Although New Zealand's interest rates are seen as remarkably low, they are high compared with those in Japan, Europe and the US. That makes this country an attractive investment destination, also keeping the dollar high.
The only certain way to reduce the value of the dollar that can be taken by the Reserve Bank is to reduce interest rates. And that in itself is a problem, given New Zealanders are only now coming to terms with the concept of reducing debt from over-borrowing.
Messrs English and Wheeler will know all of the pitfalls of tinkering around the edges. But it is a challenge to which they both must rise.
