Turia accepts National apology

RADIO NEW ZEALAND: Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia has now accepted an apology by National MP Lockwood Smith over comments she earlier described as racist.

The relationship between the Maori Party and National has been strained by comments by Dr Smith about migrant workers.

At the same time, the Maori Party announced its bottom line in any post-election talks is for the Maori seats to be entrenched.

Mrs Turia told Morning Report on Thursday she wanted an apology from Dr Smith, and she now had it.

She said everyone makes intemperate comments and she had moved on.

Mrs Turia reiterated that the Maori Party was keeping the door open to negotiations with all other parties after the election.

She said she was not aware of reported comments by party co-leader Pita Sharples that the party would prefer Labour got the higher share of the vote.

Lockwood Smith Smith issued a statement on on Wednesday saying he sincerely regretted causing offence with his remarks, which he said were simply reporting the strong concerns expressed to him by employers of migrant workers in the government scheme that brings people from the Pacific to fill labour shortages.

He had said that some Asian workers were more productive in vineyards, while employers were having to teach some Pacific workers how to use toilets or showers.

 

Listen Tariana Turia on Morning Report

Implications

Radio New Zealand's political editor reports Mrs Turia now says Dr Smith's comments will have no impact on the relationship between the two parties.

She is keeping open the possibility of doing a deal with National after the election.

And National is continuing to woo the Maori Party despite big differences on policy.

Earlier in the week, the Green Party ruled National out as a potential coalition partner and National has ruled out doing a deal with New Zealand First.

Radio New Zealand's political editor says that leaves ACT and United Future as certain allies for National after the election, although neither is expected to win many seats.

Depending on National's final vote, the Maori Party's support could be crucial to whether it forms the next Government or not.

Politicians welcome OCR cut

RADIO NEW ZEALAND: Labour finance spokesperson Michael Cullen has welcomed the decision by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates.

The bank cut its Official Cash Rate from 7.5% to 6.5% on Thursday in the face of warnings of a world recession.

Dr Cullen said he normally does not comment on the bank's decisions but acknowledges the rate cut is good news.

"That will help both business and homeowners because it will obviously look to reductions at the retail end."

The National Party leader John Key also said falling interest rates are good for businesses, homeowners and borrowers, but said more needs to be done to increase confidence and get the economy growing again.

However, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the drop in the Official Cash Rate was too little, too late.

Mr Peters has been pushing for a cut in interest rates for some time, and said the rate should have been lowered by at least 1.5 percentage points, and the cut should have been made months ago.

Kiwi Saver figures show 800,000+ members, Cullen attacks National

NEW ZEALAND HERALD: Finance Minister Michael Cullen has used the release of figures showing 827,000 people are now KiwiSaver members to attack National's plans to "gut" the scheme.

Dr Cullen today released a departmental evaluation of KiwiSaver's first year of operation up to June 30, as well as the latest enrolment figures up to October 30.

In the year to June 30, 716,000 people became members - more than double the 346,000 forecast. The number by October 20 was 827,000.

Dr Cullen said the figures showed the scheme had been a "huge success", increasing people's personal financial security and strengthening the economy by promoting savings.

He attacked National's plans to scale back KiwiSaver from a scheme requiring minimum 4 per cent contributions from members and their employers to a "two plus two" scheme - a policy Labour believes will push many voters away from National.

National will use the savings to pay for its larger tax cut package and leader John Key has said the changes will make the scheme more affordable for low-income earners. 

But Dr Cullen said the evaluation report showed KiwiSaver was already being accessed by large numbers of low-income earners.

It shows that of 371,000 members who earned their income solely from a salary or wages, 52 per cent earned less than $30,000 a year and 80 per cent, less than $50,000.

Dr Cullen said all of those people would see their government subsidy reduced under National and all KiwiSavers would see their employer contribution halved, meaning they would be worse off.

"Those realities I think are biting home when people begin to realise that National is planning to gut KiwiSaver."

Labour's focus groups and internal polling showed National's policy was generating considerable anger among KiwiSaver members.

But National's finance spokesman Bill English said the report, which cited the minimum 4 per cent contribution rate as the main barrier to the scheme especially for the young and those on low incomes, backed up National's "improvements" to the scheme.

"This is the nub of National's argument. Those on lower incomes and younger Kiwis struggle to afford a minimum contribution of 4 per cent."

He said the changes would make KiwiSaver more enduring as more people would be able to opt in and fewer would have to opt out.

"This needs to be laid alongside our plan to leave more in the pockets of Kiwi workers through and ongoing programme of tax cuts and help New Zealand households meet their costs of living."

Other findings of the report include:

* roughly equal numbers of men and women have enrolled;

* 44 per cent of members are under the age of 35;

* at 30 June $1.04 billion was invested in KiwiSaver schemes;

* 36 per cent of members were automatically enrolled, the rest opted in;

* 171,000 people have opted out up to October 20, most of them from younger age groups and on lower incomes.

The report was prepared by Inland Revenue, the Ministry of Economic Development and Housing New Zealand.

Herceptin to receive twelve month funding from National

NEW ZEALAND HERALD: The National Party would increase funding for subsidised medicines by $40 million in 2009-10.

Over the following two years further boosts would increase the extra funding to $60m, then $80m.

The new money would cover the party's previously released commitment to fund a full year's Herceptin treatment for breast cancer sufferers - expected to cost an extra $9m per year above current Herceptin costs.

National Party Leader John Key made the policy announcement at a Grey Power meeting in Hastings this morning.

"National recognises that many Kiwis have limited access to modern medicines. We will improve that access.

"We will boost overall funding for medicines and speed up the registration of new medicines, with final approval remaining in New Zealand," Mr Key said.

"These initiatives will be funded within the indicative health spending allocations in the Prefu (pre-election fiscal and economic update)," Mr Key said.

"They are also further examples of our determination to shift spending into frontline services for patients, rather than backroom costs."

At present access to unfunded, high-cost or highly specialised medicines required approval from Pharmac's community exceptional circumstances committee, which had a small budget and restrictive eligibility criteria.

The policy document said doctors had given up applying because success was so unlikely.

It said National would work with Pharmac and others to investigate a better mechanism.

There were also concerns about the amount of time it took to register a new medicine.

National would give greater recognition to prior registration of medicines in Australia; the United States; United Kingdom and European Union and Canada.

Mr Key said New Zealanders expected to have similar access to medicine available in comparable countries and more money needed to go into it.

"Countries we like to compare ourselves with - such as Australia - spend more, in part because they have higher incomes. Australia provides much better access to medicines than New Zealand does.

"It is clear that in the medium term only better economic performance overall will enable us to spend significantly more on healthcare. National is firmly focused on achieving that growth."

National would strive to get more services from existing health spending by reducing waste and bureaucracy, and by lifting productivity, he said.

About 12 per cent of New Zealand's public health spending went on medicines compared to an average of 18 per cent in the OECD. Public funding per person on pharmaceuticals in New Zealand is only two-thirds of what it is in Australia.

"This boost in medicines funding will mean real per-person funding for medicines will gradually increase under a National-led Government. It will broaden access to medicines for many New Zealanders."

Maori Party drafts bill for Maori Seats - a bottom line for post election negotiations

RADIO NEW ZEALAND: The Maori Party has drafted a bill to protect the Maori seats, saying support for it would be a bottom line in any post-election coalition negotiations.

Party co-leader Tariana Turia says its members bill to entrench the seats would ensure the same protection in legislation for the Maori electorates as the general seats already have.

The leglislation would require a 75% majority in Parliament or a majority in a referendum of voters on the Maori electoral roll to repeal or amend the Maori seats.

The announcement was made at the Maori Party's launch of its treaty policy in Christchurch on Wednesday.

Mrs Turia says retaining the Maori seats is a constitutional matter, and the government should go back to Maori people to determine their future.

She says the party will be pushing which ever party wins the election for the entrenchment of the Maori seats.

"We're still making those decisions about how far we are prepared to push these issues, but why wouldn't we push for the entrenchment of the seats otherwise we have no reason to be there."

National Party leader John Key says its position remains that it will go into discussions with any party after the election in good faith, but he also says it still wants to start the process in 2014 to abolish the Maori seats.

The Maori Party's policy also calls for a Parliamentary Commissioner for the Treaty, immigrants to be taught New Zealand and Pacific history before settling in the country and all Maori over the age of 18 to be automatically entered on the Maori electoral roll.

Complete the Waikato expressway in a decade - National

NATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW: National will fast-track the remaining parts of the "Waikato Expressway", with leader John Key vowing to inject an extra $790 million to complete it within 10 years.

Mr Key made the pledge to upgrade the section of State Highway 1 linking Hamilton and Auckland during a campaign stop in Hamilton today.

He said completing the upgrade in a 10-year timeframe would cost $790m above what was set down in the government's 10-year land transport plan.

National would pay for the project from its previously outlined $3.7 billion infrastructure borrowing programme. Mr Key said tolls would not be used.

Transport Minister Annette King said the announcement was "pure pork barrel politics" and National's record meant the promises were likely to be hollow.

"When we became the government, previous National governments hadn't started construction on any components of the Waikato Expressway," Ms King said.

"Since then 14 large state highway project have been started or opened in the Waikato, including key components of the expressway."

The expressway is made up of eight sections. Two have been completed and of the remaining six, only three are on Land Transport New Zealand's work programme for the next decade.

Mr Key said National would give the road priority treatment in a bid to boost economic growth in the region.

"Reducing costs and travel time between Hamilton, our fourth largest city and Auckland, our largest city, makes unmistakable economic and environmental sense.

"It is clear that the completed Waikato Expressway will fuel long-term economic growth in the region and boost natural productivity."

He said National would treat the highway as a "road of national significance", which would qualify it for "priority consenting".

That meant consent applications would be called in by the government and dealt with at a national level rather than by local councils.

Mr Key said the benefits of fast-tracking the road included:

* increased highway capacity and reduced congestion;

* lower costs for the 16,000-20,000 motorists expected to use the road on a daily basis by 2016;

* millions of litres of reduced fuel consumption.

National's transport spokesman Maurice Williamson yesterday said a National-led government could charge people up to $3 a trip on some new roads to help pay for their construction.

But Mr Key said his comments were "premature" and today made it clear National would not put tolls on the road.

"The money will come from the additional infrastructure funding signalled in our fiscal policy. I want to stress that there will be no tolls on this road."

Williamson will have no say on tolls - Key

NATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW: National's transport spokesman, Maurice Williamson, appears to have been told to keep his mouth shut when it comes to toll roads.

Mr Williamson has twice been in trouble for suggesting National would set high tolls on some roads -- in August he said $5, and yesterday it was $3 for "very long haul roads".

On both occasions the Government said drivers paying weekly tolls at those levels would see their tax cuts wiped out.

National's leader, John Key, described Mr Williamson's August comments as "excitable" and said tolls of around $2 were more likely.

Today he seemed to have had enough, and when he was asked why Mr Williamson kept on talking about tolls, he replied: "I doubt that he will in the future".

Mr Key said he had spoken to Mr Williamson about tolls, but not at great length.

"He understands how I feel," Mr Key told reporters in Hamilton.

"In terms of tolling, I have made it quite clear what I think is appropriate, and that means tolls have to be affordable.

"They have to provide real value for money, there has to be an alternative free route."

Mr Key said if he was prime minister he would not endorse any tolling proposals that did not meet those principles.

National's leader would not talk about whether Mr Williamson -- or any other of his MPs except his deputy Bill English -- would be in cabinet.

"I have not determined my ministerial line-up at this stage," he said.

"I am not going to name any ministers outside of Bill English, who will be minister of finance."