16 October, Dunedin. 22 days to go. At Dunedin's Cafe Rue John talks informally with a group of local business people and Party supporters invited by departing MP Katherine Rich about the global economic crisis, National's proposed responses and the crucial nature of economic decision making over the coming months and years. He also talks about the demonstrators that followed him around Dunedin during this visit and some of the misunderstandings that informed their protest - particularly on asset sales and National's Superfund initiative (see today's blog for more on that). John then announces today's policy initiative on controlling the size and efficiency of State Services - about cutting waste to provide more money for front-line services. Finally, John acknowledges the tremendous service Katherine Rich has done for the National Party. The National Party, he says, is not a collection of people working all from the same internal script but has room for a wide range of opinion and thought. "The National Party's not about every single person agreeing on every single issue .... Katherine's brought a real liberal thinking to [the caucus] and that's been a great thing for us."