KEY POINTS:
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will be guest speaker at the National Party conference this weekend, but it will be strictly a private affair.
Mr Downer's speech will not be circulated, nor will reporters be allowed to attend the party's dinner as they have on previous occasions, a spokesman for National leader John Key said yesterday.
One reason may be that Mr Downer is such a high-profile speaker that the party is anxious he not overshadow Mr Key at his first conference as leader. Another may be sensitivities within the New Zealand Government surrounding Mr Downer's visit.
It is not something anyone in the Government will openly acknowledge, but the Herald understands that Mr Downer's agreement to speak to National has more than raised eyebrows in Labour.
While the respective sister-party relations between the transtasman Labour parties, and National and Liberals, are strong, such top-level contacts have been conventionally avoided.
Also slightly irritating to Labour is that Mr Downer will be combining his private visit with official duties.
He will be having a working lunch with Foreign Minister Winston Peters on Sunday, which will mean Mr Downer will be accorded "guest of Government" status for part of his visit.
