Another National policy made public by Trevor Mallard

ONE NEWS: Cabinet minister Trevor Mallard has released another National Party policy.

On Thursday it was environment, and on Friday it was conservation, both due to be launched by National's leader John Key at Waiheke Island on Saturday.

The policies are twins but Mallard told reporters they reached his office in "separate drops" which were clearly deliberate leaks.

National says they were probably left in Copperfields, the Beehive cafe.

"I'm not going to identify where it came from but I'm making it quite clear it wasn't left in Copperfields," Mallard said.

"I'm not going to say anything to identify anyone who is currently being very helpful."

Mallard said he would be very upset if Labour Party policy escaped in the same way.

"If I had a core group of MPs and staffers who were not capable of looking after policy, I would be deeply embarrassed."

He suggested it was another case of leaks coming from "a dissenting person" within National's ranks.

Mallard, who is Minister for the Environment, handed out copies of National's conservation policy and said it had been helpful to be able to analyse it before it was launched.

"Not that there's a lot in it, it's very short with big gaps," he said.

"They haven't addressed public access to the High Country, there's nothing in there about marine reserves so it's a case of National avoiding the harder issues but that's what we've come to expect from them."

NATIONAL'S ENVIRONMENT POLICY ALSO LEAKED

STUFF.CO.NZ: The National Party is going ahead with a policy launch this weekend even though a government minister has released draft copies of it.

Environment Minister Trevor Mallard confirmed tonight that he had a copy of National's environment policy, although he would not say how it reached his office.

"It just shows an organisation that can't even run itself in opposition, much less as a contender for government," he said.

"This indicates a lack of trust within National's inner circle."

Mr Mallard said the Labour Party treated draft policy documents very seriously and circulation was tightly restricted.

"I would think that was the case with National, particularly when the environment is one of the key issues for the election, and one around which National has a lot of sensitivity."

A spokesman for National's leader, John Key, said a simple mistake might have been made.

"Who would leak to Trevor Mallard? It's more likely a copy was left lying around somewhere like the Beehive cafe," the spokesman said.

Mr Mallard rejected the Beehive cafe theory. "There's a Tui billboard for that – Yeah Right," he said.

He has studied the draft policy and said he thought it was "pretty weak, it's consistent with the Key climate change denial line".

Mr Mallard said National had dumped a previous strategy to create a billion dollar fund for conservation work.

"Really, the only issue of substance is the setting up of a new bureaucracy, an environmental protection agency," he said.

"That's more bureaucracy from a party that says it opposes bureaucrats."

National's environment and conservation policies will be launched on Saturday on Waiheke Island, Mr Key's spokesman said.