National Party Leader John Key says the unfolding saga of Taito Phillip Field leaves Helen Clark reliant on a "grand coalition of the unwilling" as it attempts to progress an extremely light political agenda in 2007.

"No matter how Miss Clark tries to paint it, her Labour Government now faces the prospect of being held to ransom by potentially unreliable political allies, as each attempts to extract their pound of flesh from the new dynamic."

Mr Key says the Government is now made up of Labour, the Progressives, United Future, New Zealand First, the Greens and the independent Mr Field.

"With four parties inside the tent, the Greens on the outside, and the angry Mr Field sitting on the backbenches, Helen Clark will be forced to do a head count on almost every issue.

"This is not a recipe for a go-forward agenda, this is a recipe for paralysis born out of Labour's cynical survival instinct."

Though Mr Field has offered his proxy vote to Labour, Helen Clark will now have to decide whether it is morally right for her to continue to rely on the vote of an MP she has described as unethical and immoral.

"In her Opposition days, Helen Clark once said 'clinging on to power is all that motivates this desperate and dangerous Government now'. Her own words are coming back to haunt her."

The revelation that the KidsCan charity has been overwhelmed by demand from schools for food for hungry pupils shows the Labour Government is completely out of touch, says National Party Leader John Key.

"The charity reports that since publicity about this issue, it's had 50 further schools added to the 61 it already has wanting help. And they keep getting more schools coming forward every day.

"This shows the extent of the problem, and makes the denials by Helen Clark and her Labour Government about the extent of the issue even more farcical.

"Since I launched National's Food in Schools initiative on February 3, we have been working to put generous corporate donors in touch with needy schools. KidsCan has already benefited from donations from Tasti Foods and James Crisp Ltd.

"But much more obviously needs to be done, and National intends to keep going with its Food in Schools initiative.

"While Labour denies the extent of the problem, National and corporate donors are acting.

"I understand Helen Clark is visiting the Auckland suburb of Owairaka today following on from my visit to McGehan Close in that suburb on February 3.

"This visit shows she's following rather than leading.

"Perhaps she could start leading by not denying that a major issue exists in our schools with hungry pupils."

The Government promise of '20 hours free' childcare will force some parents into signing contracts with their provider, thereby locking them into years of paying 'optional charges', says National Party Leader John Key.

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act show the Labour Government has been told services will refuse to enrol children of parents who do not agree to pay optional charges.

"Labour sold this policy promising '20 hours free' care for all three and four year olds," says Mr Key.

"But these papers show that cash-strapped services will force parents into contracts agreeing to top up the cost of the free scheme through optional charges.

"Labour has lumped the early childhood sector with an unworkable policy which will see parents paying more - not less - for childcare and force them into a costly contract to access their '20 hours free'.

"Children of parents who refuse to pay optional charges will be forced onto the waiting lists of other over-subscribed services offering the scheme.

"The papers show that the Labour Government was warned in May last year that its plan would lead to a two-tier sector – 'free at the basic low end and fee paying at the top end'.

"Once again, the Government's own documents show the '20 hours free' promise is nothing more than a cruel hoax played out on unsuspecting New Zealand parents."

"It's a hoax when only one in eight of Manukau childcare centres surveyed by the Early Childhood Council have committed to offering the '20 hours free'. South Auckland is an area of great need – yet hardly any centres in that community will be able to offer it."

Click to download Official Information Act papers

The Prime Minister's statement to Parliament today shows the Labour Government has run out of ideas and energy, and is rapidly running out of time, says National Party Leader John Key.

"The new buzzword – sustainable – is mentioned 33 times," Mr Key says. "But after all the hype and spin from the Beehive, the big idea is that Treasury officials will stop writing reports, which Michael Cullen ignores anyway, and instead make them 'carbon neutral'.

"A 'carbon neutral' public service is a gimmick. If the Government was serious it would include the big energy consumers like schools, hospitals, police and the air force.

"A minimum biofuels sales target is a bit late, and doesn't take effect until 2012, meaning it won't contribute anything to meeting Kyoto commitments. National has already outlined a biofuels proposal.

"The parole changes are timid and simply show National was right that Corrections and its Minister couldn't be trusted.

"The final new idea is the introduction of a new tax - proposed by the Greens – on waste. It would increase by 50%, compounded annually, if waste minimisation targets are not met.

"Missing from the speech is talk of tax cuts, which we all know Helen Clark and Michael Cullen disagree on. Watching Michael Cullen on the topic of tax cuts is like being a witness to the longest striptease in New Zealand history – eight years and he's still fully clothed.

"The Labour Government needs a reality check. Maybe if the Prime Minister spent more time in South Auckland and less on the South Pole, she'd get it.

"After my Burnside speech she confidently declared there was no underclass - when everybody else knows there is.

"Severe hardship is increasing under her watch, violent offences are going up, tens of thousands of kids are going to school hungry, drugs are rife and drug use is rising, charities are struggling to cope with demand, and the police are overwhelmed.

"She's a Prime Minister who is increasingly aloof and out of touch."