National's leader John Key says his party's tax cut package is locked and loaded but you will not get to see it until the first week of the election campaign.
Instead he has released the controversial industrial relations policy that contains what the Government calls a "hire and fire" clause.
Employment relations have been a touchy subject for National and to make sure there were no slip ups today. Leader John Key launched his policy, alone and without fan fare. It is only one page long, after all.
Key says it is policy for the times. And as signalled, includes the right for small businesses to use a 90 day trial period. But he denies that is targeted for the employers' benefit only.
“I think those who want to get a job will benefit enormously from it i see it as a policy to hire not to fire and all the experts support the idea that it will work well,” says Key.
But just as quick as Key was releasing his brief, the Government and its allies, the unions, were attacking it.
“It's drop half a page and run,” says Labour Minister Trevor Mallard. “What this does is to implement John Key's promise to lower New Zealand wages, it does it by lowering the wages of people who are sick, it does it by taking their holidays away and through the fire at will provisions.”
If in government, National says it will keep 99 percent of the current Employment Relations Act, but add the 90 day trial for business with fewer than 20 people. To be agreed between employer and employee. And restore workers rights to bargain collectively without belonging to a union.
It will keep Labour's four weeks annual leave but change it to allow employees the chance to trade in the fourth week for cash.
Unions are not impressed.
“Low paid workers maybe pressured into selling their fourth week of annual leave and will they be required to pay workers the amount that leave is worth or will they be able to reduce it's value because people might be hard up and forced to sell just simply to make a normal days wages,” says Helen Kelly, of the Trade Unions Council.
But National says that won't be up for negotiation. Key has also committed to reviewing and raising the minimum wage but will not say by how much.
“I wouldn't trust them to do anything for lower income wage earners because of their history,” says Mallard.
National also plans to review the Holidays Act. It wants to look at sick leave and statutory holidays and the rate they are paid at. Business New Zealand welcomes the policy and says the flexibility will be attractive.
3 News