July 17 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand Finance Minister Michael Cullen said there is no immediate solution available to combat the nation's surging currency, which is crimping exports.

``The government is acutely aware of the pain the high New Zealand dollar is causing much of the export sector,'' Cullen said in parliament in Wellington today. ``While there are no short-term fixes, the government is committed to removing the imbalances in the economy by increasing savings and continuing to run a tight fiscal policy.''

The currency climbed to a 22-year high of 79.41 U.S. cents today, extending its gain in the past 12 months to 27 percent.

Asked what the government could do to prevent the currency advancing in response to the central bank raising interest rates, Cullen said that ``the government does have the power through an order in council to suspend the current policy targets agreement and indeed to suspend to primary objective element of the Reserve Bank Act.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington at twithers@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 16, 2007 22:42 EDT