Labour leader Phil Goff has written to the Australian investment bankers hired by the Government to give them a message - "hands off our assets''.
Prime Minister John Key has conceded National risk losing the election should the Green Party hold the balance of power.
National's attack on Labour over the alleged $17 billion "hole'' in its economic plan ignores more than $1 billion a year in proceeds from the state-owned assets National would sell and the assets generated by Super Fund contributions, Labour's David Parker says.
Labour leader Phil Goff has promised to show New Zealand the money tomorrow and reveal his party's fiscal plan which will involve borrowing $2.6 billion more than National over three years.
Labour's support has slipped in the first week of the election campaign to below 30 per cent, according to a survey released this afternoon.
There is no need to increase the eligibility age for NZ Superannuation as the scheme is affordable into the future, Prime Minister John Key told and audience of business people this morning in Wellington.
The National Party will release some of its promised welfare reform programme today, and Prime Minister John Key says it will ensure people can move off welfare with the necessary support.
Labour moved yesterday to strengthen its ties with the union movement by releasing its work and wages policy which has an emphasis on returning wage negotiation strength back to the workers.
Labour hopes to swing public opinion behind its proposed capital gains tax by including a special exemption for the country's hundreds of thousands of tradespeople and small owner-operated businesses.
New parties are displacing those that have occupied the far left and far right extremes of our political spectrum for 20 years.
The sparring continued between National and Labour yesterday as Phil Goff sought to discredit National's response to his 10 "vital statistics'' attacking the Government's record.
National is promising a $400 million boost to irrigation and water storage development if re-elected.
Prime Minister John Key has hit back at Labour leader Phil Goff's Top 10 list of Government failings, saying Goff is "in denial'' and "needs to focus on reality''.
The Greens and National are moving closer on KiwiSaver, with Prime Minister John Key saying yesterday the Government was keen to look at how it can combat high KiwiSaver fees.
The Green Party is leading the policy debate so far in the election campaign, and could play a starring role in the formation of the next government if its polling continues to rise.
The election campaign is about halfway through with policy announcements flooding our letter boxes and in-boxes. Political editor Dene Mackenzie sat down with retiring Labour Party MP Pete Hodgson to talk campaign strategies.
Labour is increasingly being held prisoner by the Greens as leader Phil Goff "cuddles up'' to its potential coalition partner and its policies, Finance Minister Bill English says.
There had been little progress by the National Government to reduce greenhouse emissions or meet climate change targets, University of Otago and Victoria University researchers say.
Labour leader Phil Goff turned on Prime Minister John Key yesterday as the campaign lifted in intensity.
Act has announced plans to overhaul the "Frankenstein legislation'' it says the Resource Management Act (RMA) has become.
