Tax tease touted to party delegates

A fourth-term National Government will further cut taxes and raise incomes, Prime Minister Bill English has said in a speech to lift party faithful after a horror week.

Speaking at the party’s annual conference in Wellington on Sunday, English said National’s ‘‘family incomes’’ package in the May Budget was an ‘‘excellent step forward’’ and there was more to come. ‘‘If we are able to keep lifting growth and carefully manage the public finances we will be able to further reduce taxes and lift income.’’ Speaking to reporters later, English would not offer specifics. There was unlikely to be much detail on the campaign trail either, he suggested.

The priority would be to bed in the May Budget’s family incomes package, after which any future package would be dependent on the conditions of lifting growth and managing expenditure.

It was only if those conditions were met that National had ‘‘the potential to do it again’’.

‘‘So you’re not going to see a whole lot of specifics about a second incomes package before we’ve got the first one in place.’’

The package announced in the May Budget does not kick in till April next year.

Through the family tax credit, families will get an average $26 a week. Depending on housing costs some families could get an extra $100 a week.

Finance Minister Steven Joyce signalled on Saturday that any future tax cuts would likely be targeted at low-to-middle-income earners.

The speech, billed as a ‘‘vision’’ statement, was otherwise short on detail or new policy initiatives.

The conference has been overshadowed by ongoing questions about English’s handling of a police investigation into rookie MP Todd Barclay.

English released a police statement on Tuesday confirming he was aware of Barclay recording a staff member, who was later paid out with a secret settlement.

The prime minister had initially told reporters he could not recall what he told police, and suggested he was not aware of any recording. Barclay announced on Thursday he was standing down from the next election.

Fronting up on the weekend current affairs television shows Q +A and The Nation, English repeatedly denied he had not told the truth.

National headed into the conference with a polling boost from the Budget, but the party will be worried some of the gains have been lost over the Barclay scandal.

A resurgent Winston Peters is using the controversy to attack English’s credibility and launched a rival ‘‘campaign launch for the regions’’ for NZ First in Manawatu on Sunday.

National Party delegates have been told National needs at least 75,000 new votes to secure a fourth term. English’s speech was introduced with a campaign video of iconic Kiwi scenes accompanied by a song with the lyrics ‘‘let’s get together’’.

English later confirmed the song was an original one penned specially for National’s election campaign.

Last election National became embroiled in a copyright row after American rapper Eminem accused it of copying his song, 8 Mile.

English indicated other priorities for a fourth term included:

* Investing tens of billions of dollars to upgrade infrastructure;

* Protecting the environment for future generations;

* Delivering better public services by investing more in education, giving children a healthy start to life, targeting gangs and organised crime, and improving the lives of the most vulnerable.