National Party

The ultra-orthodox Budget was sold on Thursday by Bill English as the last word in fiscal rectitude, but it lacked for one rather necessary ingredient.

If National is as hell-bent on radical welfare reform as its critics insist it is, then it would surely overhaul the flawed child support scheme with the same gusto that this week saw it offer free long-acting, reversible contraception to mothers on benefits and their teenage daughters.

If Labour leader David Shearer feels insecure about his job after four months of leading the party, he was not showing it during a visit to Dunedin yesterday.

Make no mistake. Prime Minister John Key will dump the Hon John Archibald Banks QSO CNZM from his ministry if circumstances so dictate.

The South Island would benefit from visitors to the SkyCity Convention Centre, which could be linked to proposed convention centres in Queenstown and Christchurch, the Prime Minister says.

What a difference a year makes for the National Party - a change for the better as far as involving its members and being decidedly more open than for many years.

The word "reform" drips readily off the tongues of politicians.

The National Party has confirmed it paid in full when it used the SkyCity Convention Centre on election night and other occasions.

Labour will claim both moral and tactical victories over National after this week's skirmishing over paid parental leave, and with some justification.

National's asset-sale plan passed its first legislative hurdle on Thursday with a warning it was necessary to avoid a Greek-style debt crisis, but the Opposition blames the Government for creating debt problems with its tax cuts.