United New Zealand leader, Hon Peter Dunne, says there is now a simple question Dr Cullen must answer in the light of the reaction to the Governor of the Reserve Bank's warning yesterday that the country could face the prospect of stagflation for the first time since the late 1970s and early 1980s.

"The question for Dr Cullen is this - is he satisfied with, and does he have confidence in, the way Dr Brash is carrying out his statutory functions regarding monetary policy?"

"Mr Anderton has already dismissed Dr Brash's warnings; while Dr Cullen's response has been to quote more optimistic reports from the NZIER and to refuse to comment in any way on Dr Brash's warning, other than making it clear he disagrees with it."

"The Government's shameful distancing if itself from Dr Brash is chilling, and suggests very strongly its strategy is to turn Dr Brash into a pariah to be disposed of at some future point, as the sacrificial lamb for the failure of its economic policies."

"A straight answer from Dr Cullen would quickly dispel this speculation," Mr Dunne says.

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