KEY POINTS:
The 400 lunch guests have all but disappeared from Waitakere's Trust Stadium where John Key delivered his long-awaited speech and a $480 million set of measures to help fine tune the country's economic engine.
It is not the Government's job to be the engine, Key said concluding his
speech "but instead to do all that we sensibly can to keep that engine humming, tuned and free to go up a gear."
Key's speech went down very well, not least with Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, who praised Key's leadership and said all of New Zealand would be behind him and, incidentally, was with Key last month at a function when he fell down stairs and broke his arm in three places and as an old life guard, recognised that he was in shock.
I was at the same venue with the same hosts this time last year when then Prime Minister Helen Clark gave her state of the nation speech, focusing on youth training. How the world has changed since then.
Key was introduced by Bryan Mogridge of the Waitakere Enterprise Business Enterprise - the one who ordered the NZ First cheque to Starship Foundation be returned - who welcomed Key to the stage with a dose of 'Westie" advice: "cut the crap and go hard" said Mogridge.
Key delivered a good speech.
It had not only good news for small and medium business enterprises but it spelled out the Government's approach to the economic crisis. While that had been evident for a while it is good to have it set out.
Not for New Zealand is the big bang approach of our Australian neighbour but what Key called a "rolling maul" of initiatives for jobs and growth.
He also set out very clearly why the Government cannot do everything, why it cannot just throw limitless money at the problem.
In the "rolling maul" of initiatives next week's announcement will be about the short-term infrastructure projects, followed a couple of weeks later with the Jobs Summit initiatives, then the Budget and so on.
Today's announcement was really the first real package of new policies under this Government to protect jobs, which is what has given Labour's Phil Goff the room to criticise almost on a daily basis the lack of urgency in the Government's response. He may be forced to let up for a while.
The contents of the so-called stimulus package outlined to date have been a packing job of existing stimulatory Labour and National policies, that had been planned without the global downturn in mind.
The Resource Management Act reforms outlined yesterday would have been part of National's first-100 days programme whether or not there had been a recession. Ditto the tax cuts.
Notwithstanding the bank guarantees, today's are the first home-grown policies to protect jobs.
After the speech, it took some time to find some business operators who would actually be affected by the announcements - the lunch has a large number of local bureaucrats, accountants and lawyers (including Clint Rickards).
Some of the journalists at Key's press conference later were "underwhelmed" by the package and the relatively low cost ($480 million over four years) but that was not the attitude of the business I spoke to who will be affected by the measures. They were delighted.
Key has also worked on his delivery and made a good job. It was a far cry from his state of the nation speech this time last year as Opposition leader to a hand-picked group of National Party members.
He looked and sounded like a strong captain befitting of one leading the charge on a rolling maul.
Video: Key announces help for businesses
Video: Press conference after Key's speech