"Between smear campaigns, Helen Clark's announcements in this election are divided into two categories: 'the could've been' variety that she wanted to make, and the 'promise and hope' variety that she has announced but has no idea how to pay for."

National Party Leader John Key is commenting on Labour's latest spending announcement, which once again has no detail on how it will be paid for.

"Today she added to the 'promise and hope' column by making a rushed $50 million a year announcement on Transitional Assistance in response to National.

"This brings the total number of uncosted policies announced by Helen Clark since the pre-election opening of the books to at least 30.

"It's poorly thought through and reactionary. National's package, coming out tomorrow, will be of a broadly similar size but better structured.

"However, the big difference is whether the policy is real or not. National's is part of our fully costed and fully funded fiscal package.

"Labour's is part of Helen Clark's patented 'promise and hope' programme.

"Labour's only response to challenges about where the money comes from is a message to wait for a mini-Budget after the election. That will be when they will undoubtedly cancel any further tax cuts for hard-working Kiwis.

"Helen Clark and Michael Cullen are fair-weather economic managers. They have no idea how to manage an economy in tougher times.

"National has made the hard choices around KiwiSaver and R & D tax credits to give New Zealanders a responsible economic package that will provide security and growth.

"One week to go in the election campaign and Labour has no idea how to do either."
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Yesterday began in Auckland doing the usual run of breakfast tv shows before I flew out to Queenstown and then on to Invercargill. 
 
In Queenstown I announced our tourism policy before an audience at a Tourism Industry Association event, including my intention to take the Tourism Portfolio should National form the next government.
 
Queenstown was an appropriate place to talk about the importance of tourism, the contribution of the industry to the New Zealand economy, and its significance in terms of celebrating this country's scenery, wildlife and people.
 
After a brief walkabout and coffee with deputy leader Bill English, I travelled on to Invercargill and a public meeting last night.
 
The media were awaiting me on arrival to discuss Labour's latest attack on me, the so-called 'neutron bomb' over the H-fee.  
 
Instead of governing and focusing on the issues New Zealanders are concerned about - like the economy and law & order - Labour has been trying to dig up dirt again on this 20-year-old issue.
 
Labour has even got their president Mike Williams on a flight to Australia to go through old court files - in the middle of an election campaign.
 
But the authorities have all had access to the same information, and agree I had nothing to do with the H-fee.
 
Labour doesn't care about that.  They are launching a last-minute attack because they have nothing to say about the future.

Well, I have.
 
Today I will be in Wellington and the Kapiti Coast talking about the issues that matter, like the economy, health, law & order and education.

John Key

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National Headlines: Keeping you up to date

Clark donkey deep in smear campaign

National Party Shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee says it defies belief that Labour's self-appointed chief strategist, Helen Clark, did not know what Mike Williams was up to in Australia.

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Mood for change in mood of boardroom

National Party Finance spokesman Bill English says it is clear from the latest Mood of the Boardroom report that the country's business leaders agree that a National Government will drive economic growth.

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Labour must pull misleading ads

National Party Shadow Leader of the House, Gerry Brownlee says the verdict of the Advertising Standards Authority which has found a Labour attack advertisement is misleading is no surprise.

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Sad Mr Cunliffe seeks to scare

National Party Health spokesman Tony Ryall says David Cunliffe is so ashamed of Labour's health record that he is now resorting to desperate scare tactics.

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Desperation drips from latest smear attempt

National Party Leader John Key says Labour's latest attempt to link him to the controversial H-Fee is little more than a desperate smear less than a fortnight out from the election.

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Failed OECD target reheated as Labour policy

"Nearly ten years after promising to get New Zealand back to the top half of the OECD, the failed promise is again formal Labour Party policy," says National Party Finance spokesman Bill English.

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National announces Foreign Affairs, Trade policies

Enhancing ties and promoting free-trade agreements with Pacific and Asian nations are features of National's Foreign Affairs and Trade policies announced today. 

 

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National Party Leader John Key says Labour's latest attempt to link him to the controversial H-Fee is little more than a desperate smear less than a fortnight out from the election.

"This is a desperate attempt by the Labour Party to smear me 10 days out from the election. I have never been involved in the H-free transaction. The Serious Fraud Office Director at the time has confirmed that."

Former SFO head Charles Sturt has previously confirmed: 'Mr Key was simply one in a "vast array of innocent people, potential witnesses, in a massive fact-gathering exercise. I feel compelled to fully support the reported comments of John Key in relation to the H-Fee transaction. It should not need to be said that John Key was completely innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever. For any politician to hint or suggest otherwise would be absolutely rubbish and pure mischief-making'.

Mr Key says the Labour Party's desperate attempt to link him with this issue again now appears to revolve around an earlier H-Fee transaction which took place in Australia while he was working for Elders in New Zealand.

"I was not involved in, or even aware of, that earlier transaction. Labour is clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel and will stop at no lie or innuendo."

Mr Key says he has previously clarified the year of his departure from Elders in the New Zealand Herald on July 19.

"I remain focussed on the issues that matter to New Zealanders. I challenge Helen Clark to do the same, and face up to her record on law and order, the economy, health and education." Tweet

Speech to the Tourism Industry Association
Queenstown

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today, in the middle of a region of New Zealand that is home to some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world – and a region for whom today's topic is crucially important.

Tourism is one of the major industries for New Zealand, one of the biggest. Your industry earns about 18% of New Zealand's export earnings.

Apparently there is some ongoing debate about whether tourism qualifies as the biggest export earner and it may have something to do with how you add up the competing agricultural industries, but no matter. 18% of New Zealand's export earnings is a lot in anyone's book.

Tourism is also responsible for about 9% of New Zealand's GDP, and employs about one in ten working New Zealanders. So, aside from anything else, it's an industry that's particularly important in maintaining and boosting this country's employment levels and growth prospects.

For all these reasons, and as a prospective Prime Minister who wants to get New Zealand's economy back on a real growth track; tourism is of real interest to me.

There is another reason it interests me. Tourism is about celebrating New Zealand's magnificent landscape, its wildlife, and its people.

And as someone who has spent a bit of time overseas, the opportunity to be involved in promoting this country and all that's in it would be a huge privilege.

There is a unique beauty in this country, something we are all rightly proud of.

New Zealand, the destination, is one of the three things in which I see us having a real competitive advantage over many other countries.

I see those three unique advantages as the experience we offer our visitors,
our strengths in food production, and our Kiwi ingenuity – the cleverness of our innovators, our engineers, our technicians, and our designers.

All three of these competitive advantages are going to be crucially important to ensure we get through the current world economic challenges and get on to a faster growth path.

All three have another connection; they are all about "Brand New Zealand" –
about how this small country at the bottom of the world punches far above its weight and does it in a natural, authentic way.

And we are a small country. So we all have to work together to keep getting noticed, keep getting seen, and giving all New Zealand products – whether it be our food, our scenery, our ingenuity – a reference point for people to buy.

The good news is that our location, though at the "bottom of the world", is also on the rim of the fast-growing Asian region and that is becoming a real strategic advantage.

Though we are far away from the old world, we are actually pretty close to the fastest-growing part of the world.

There are many opportunities for New Zealand to forge ahead – provided we take a focused and co-ordinated approach to all our international activities.

That's why I believe that as Prime Minister, should I be given that privilege by the voters, there is an obvious role for me to use my office to proactively advance the cause of the New Zealand brand by leading our tourism marketing effort.

It is also a real signal to tourism operators like yourselves that a National Government will recognise the importance of your industry to the New Zealand economy. And it is a tangible way of showing New Zealanders that their new Prime Minister is truly going to be focused on growing the cake rather than just on different ways to hand the cake out.

Taking an active leadership role in one of our major growth industries is one way I can demonstrate the next National Government's commitment to growth and higher incomes for all New Zealanders.

The only way out of this recession will be to grow our way out, and that means being more outwardly focused and selling more of our goods and services to the world. Tourism is a big part of that, both directly and indirectly, as a promoter of brand New Zealand

To promote that growth I will firstly want to ensure that all our international agencies, be they tourism, NZTE, MFAT, all work more closely together effectively as the external arm of New Zealand Inc. If you like, our international division.

They also need to work much more effectively with the private sector – as must the rest of the government sector. A country our size has limited resources.
We can't operate with different agencies in their own silos around the world.

So, the first thing I will be seeking is a strong cross-agency focus on marketing New Zealand in all the major markets in which we operate.

Today, National is releasing our tourism policy alongside this speech.

Our Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Murray McCully, is also releasing our Foreign Affairs policy, and our Trade Spokesman, Tim Groser, is releasing our Trade policy.

These three policies are being released at the same time to underline our commitment to co-ordinate those efforts.

Then I will want to look closely at Tourism New Zealand – in the same way we are going to review all government agencies – to ensure that the maximum amount of the resources we provide is being directed to the front line, and in this case the front line is New Zealand's international marketing effort and the maximum bang for our buck.

We will need to keep freshening our brand. 100% Pure has been working well for us but, as in all marketing, we will need to keep challenging ourselves to keep it fresh, modern, and relevant to our audience. Lately, TNZ has updated it by focusing on the fact that New Zealand is geologically the youngest country in the world.

Our marketing image as a country will be very much a focus for us.

We also need to protect the intrinsic qualities that are important to New Zealand's brand. I'm thinking of our environmental credentials, in particular. Global climate change awareness, resource shortages, and increasing intolerance of environmental degradation will give environmental policy renewed relevance in the minds of potential tourists.

So, National's environmental policy will work to protect the resources that tourism providers rely on – clean air, clean water, and unique landscapes. The things that make visiting New Zealand such a unique experience.

I also believe that New Zealand, as a responsible international citizen, must act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

National will work on the world stage to support international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we will actively participate in efforts to build global alliances that build on the goals agreed to at Kyoto.

We have to do our bit, and be seen to be doing our bit on climate change so we can hold our own against the carbon miles bullies.

Here at home, National will work to reduce emissions in ways that result in least cost to society and the economy. It's very important we get that balance right, particularly at a time when many New Zealanders are already feeling the pinch from global financial uncertainty.

To that end, National will amend Labour's ETS to ensure it is balances our environmental responsibilities and our economic opportunities, to ensure it is fiscally neutral, fair on small and medium businesses, compatible with Australia's regime, and that it promotes carbon efficiency – not carbon export.

The second important step National will take to promote our tourism sector is to work with the public and private sector to help further develop the tourism industry, making sure that the public sector supports private sector initiatives.

And in taking those initiatives we will all need to focus on that over-used but under-realised tourism term "yield" – the return we obtain from each visitor, each activity, and each room night.

At a macro level you maximise yield by preserving the great things about the experience that visitors to New Zealand have, while eliminating the 'not-so-good things', and in some of those, government has a role.

I am not talking about writing another strategy or another set of targets or another plan. Tourism is one of those industries that has been blighted by far too many strategies, consultations, and general navel-gazing under Labour.

There is now an agreed tourism strategy for 2015. We will use that as a base, but our approach will be action-orientated and results-focused.

Tourism is also effectively provided by a huge range of mostly small and medium-sized New Zealand businesses which, like most SMEs, often wonder if Government is here to help or to get in the way. Under Labour its been, more often than not, to get in the way.

National's plans to reduce red tape, reform the RMA, and remove superfluous regulation across the board will help tourism businesses at least as much as other businesses, and they will encourage an entrepreneurial spirit that has often been stifled over the past nine years.

Many of the things that tourism businesses need to have happen in order to get ahead are the same things that all businesses in New Zealand need: Good infrastructure is important to a vibrant tourism sector – roads, energy, water, are all important. And ultra-fast broadband is important for communicating our offering to the wider world.

To achieve those things there is a need for investment, and a need to cut through compliance issues and red tape.

National is committed to taking a big step up in New Zealand's infrastructure investment and also to reducing the barriers in the RMA that could slow down much-needed development.

Of course, the Resource Management Act doesn't just slow down big infrastructure projects. I know it can make developments costly, time-consuming, and difficult for your businesses as well.

National will introduce into Parliament, within 100 days of forming a new Government, a Resource Management Amendment Bill to streamline and simplify the Act, and advance this into law within six months. Our first phase of reforms will simplify the Act by reducing the number of consent categories,
getting rid of vexatious and frivolous objections, making it easier for councils to update plans, and clarifying the vague Treaty of Waitangi references.

One of the short-to-medium term things the next Government will be doing is helping maximise the benefit brand New Zealand draws from hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2011. This will be one of the biggest promotional opportunities New Zealand will ever get on the world stage, and we will work with the organisers to ensure the success of the event as a fantastic opportunity to showcase New Zealand

The gloss has been coming off our tourism numbers a bit in recent times as the world economy enters a recession. We are going to have to work a lot smarter, all of us, to keep those numbers up and, more importantly, to maximise the economic return New Zealand gets from tourism and trade.

And the way we are going to have to approach tourism is an example of what we are going to have to do right across our economy to grow our way out of recession and get rid of Labour's projected decade of deficits – and that is to make New Zealand a wealthier country that can keep people here and afford First World services in health and education.

Remember, it is only a strong economy that will provide financial security for our families, larger superannuation payments for our older people, and well-paying jobs for our young people.

Though times are getting tough right now, the future for tourism is bright. You are a vital part of the economic engine that drives New Zealand and you will be celebrated and encouraged by my Government.

If I am made Prime Minister, I commit to leading that charge as your next Minister of Tourism.

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The release of National's Prisons policy, a visit to Air New Zealand's hangars, a drop-in to a pre-school, and a meeting with Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker, were all highlights of my visit to Christchurch yesterday.

The day was fine and calm when I arrived, but a strong Nor-Westerly was forecast.

I started the day visiting a pre-school, and read a story to the children about a yellow digger.

I am a bit of an aviation nut, so the visit to Air New Zealand hangars at Christchurch Airport was of interest.

We saw their work on aircraft engines and parts, and their Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s. The airline obviously has a thriving engineering business at the airport.

We were originally scheduled to release our Prisons policy outside Rolleston Prison, but changed the venue to outside the Christchurch courthouse because of the rising winds.

The policy focuses on reforming our prisons and offering prisoners work experience and other help to overcome debilitating drug and alcohol addiction problems.

With the carrot is the stick of cancelling parole for those prisoners who are able to work but refuse to do so.

I believe it is a waste of resources letting offenders serve their time without challenging them to change their behaviour, only to release them and throw them back in prison again when they reoffend. 

Today I am heading to the deep south, flying to Queenstown and then travelling on to Invercargill, where I will be staying overnight.

John Key

National Headlines - Keeping you up to date

Labour's answer to gangs: form a committee 

New Zealanders will be offended by Labour's announcement today that its only response to the scourge of gangs is to form a committee, says National's Justice and Corrections spokesman, Simon Power.

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 Key announces commitment to tourism sector

National Party Leader John Key today confirmed that if elected Prime Minister he intends to take the ministerial tourism portfolio.

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  Owen Glenn still expecting job in May

National Party Shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee says Owen Glenn was still expecting a job as the honorary consul to Monaco as recently as May.

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 National to upgrade biosecurity

A National Government will introduce a range of measures to reduce the chances of a repeat of the pest incursions of recent years, says Biosecurity spokesman Shane Ardern.

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Local Government policy targets infrastructure 

National Party Local Government spokesman John Carter says the party's Local Government policy is all about growth and reducing the burden of Wellington-based bureaucracy on ratepayers.

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National to boost prison work and rehabilitation 

A National-led Government will greatly boost the number of prisoners learning industry-based skills and double those receiving intensive drug and alcohol treatment, National Party Leader John Key announced today.

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Tragedy from bureaucratic errors
 National Party Health spokesman Tony Ryall says after nine years Labour still can't get the basics right with the health system.

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 Clark's 'Could've Been' campaign all about spending

National Party Finance spokesman Bill English says after nine long years in Government, Helen Clark has been reduced to running a 'Could've Been' election campaign. 

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