Brash closes gap but faces internal row

National leader Don Brash today begins his election-year battle at Parliament buoyed by a boost in personal popularity and closing the gap on Labour after his attack on welfare.

But an internal crisis in National over the failure of welfare spokeswoman Katherine Rich to publicly back Dr Brash's hard line may yet undo gains from the party's carefully orchestrated start to the year.

As well, a Herald-DigiPoll survey shows far more people think the Labour-led Government is headed in the right direction than do not.

National has narrowed the gap on Labour to 9.5 points in the Herald-DigiPoll survey of 800 people, the first full poll taken since Dr Brash's speech at Orewa a week ago.

In the December poll the gap was 20 points. But the new poll puts both parties in about the same places they were in an average of polls in December. And the 9.5-point gap may still be a lot wider than National had been hoping for after the welfare assault.

Dr Brash's popularity has jumped eight points since the December poll, from 20.3 to 28.2.

Prime Minister Helen Clark remains well out in front, on 54.9 per cent. NZ First leader Winston Peters is third, down slightly to 7.4.

The poll, conducted straight after the Orewa speech last Tuesday, found the welfare system was rated by a small margin as the most important problem facing New Zealand, followed closely by crime.

Asked if they thought the Government was headed in the right direction, 56.7 per cent of those polled said yes and 35.3 per cent said no.

Dr Brash said the Herald poll confirmed the positive response his party had been getting to the speech.

"I guess it also reinforces the point that we have still got a way to go, but closing the gap was 'an admirably do-able task'."

He was especially pleased with the improvement in his polling in the preferred Prime Minister stakes.

He would not comment on Katherine Rich's chances of retaining her job.

The National caucus is not meeting this morning so Dr Brash can be given more time to prepare his response in Parliament to Helen Clark's "state-of-the-nation" address.

His performance in the House today will be important to sustain a sense of momentum within his own caucus and to counter the inevitable attacks from rivals over Katherine Rich's reluctance to endorse some of the Orewa policies.

These included his statement that adopting out babies would be a more acceptable alternative to women getting the domestic purposes benefit, and not giving women who get pregnant while on the DPB more money for an extra child.

Helen Clark yesterday questioned the sustainability of any boost National might get.

Given the exposure Dr Brash had received, it would have been "a miracle" if it had not registered in some way.

She said last night through a spokesman that she was not surprised by the poll result.

"Labour would be very comfortable with that sort of majority on election night. We look forward to the year with optimism.

"At the end of the day we are eight months out from a general election and people are looking for where they want the country to go and who has got the set of policies to increase our wellbeing as a country and the wellbeing of individual families.

"I don't think one speech on one issue really does that.

"It might get a barometer of interest at the time but is it sustainable? Big question."

Her staff are expected to jealously monitor the amount of media coverage she receives for her address today outlining broad plans to tackle savings for retirement, housing and tertiary education, work on benefit reform and ways to encourage more women, including those on the DPB, into the workforce.