PM's Presser – No Taxation Without Presentation

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• Scoop Audio: Speculation was rife in Monday’s post-Cabinet press conference, but John Key was having none of it.

The Prime Minister said little on the eve of his statement to Parliament, which is tipped to focus heavily on an overhaul of the tax system.

Reporters quizzed Key on a range of theories -- from GST increases to capital gains -- but Key said only that his reforms would balance fairness and equity amongst taxpayers with sustainability.

The government had a “shopping list” of economic initiatives which would be formally announced in the May Budget.

He did however expect to see a resulting increase in jobs within the next year.

There had already been clear signals about what his speech would contain and he would not go into further detail, he said.

But the Prime Minister's zipped lips did not prevent him stop him from responding to Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard’s comments on Australia’s economy.

Bollard said in an interview Sunday he did not think New Zealand could catch up with Australia’s economy.

Key acknowledged “a substantial challenge” but said he did not share Bollard’s fatalism.

“There’s no getting away from the fact that Australia is minerally wealthy and its resources are easily accessible.”

But there were other factors that would allow New Zealand to compete, he said.

“New Zealand for instance has an abundance of water; Australia does not.”

Irrigation presented huge economic opportunities and the country’s capacity to export freshwater was one of the reasons behind the Government’s water forum, he said.

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