"What is clear is that in a globalised world most of the Government's economic policies, including fiscal, industry and immigration policies, are all constrained by other countries' policies and by international pressures on them. With financial markets so interconnected, any small country's domestic monetary policy also now needs to be seen in an international setting.
"Nevertheless, there is no question that we can run an independent monetary policy. We have control of our ship. If global winds are not behind us or our economy is out of sync with influential economies, then our progress becomes more difficult, and things can get uncomfortable. We may have to modify our chosen course.