KEY POINTS:
National leader John Key is defending his decision to avoid meeting supporters and shoppers in a Tauranga mall because Winston Peters was at the same place - and he insists he is not scared of encountering the New Zealand First leader.
Mr Key yesterday spent a day campaigning in Tauranga and Rotorua, two electorates National hopes to capture with fresh candidates Simon Bridges and Todd McLay.
Polls put Mr Bridges ahead of Mr Peters in Tauranga but Rotorua is expected to be a close race, with Mr McLay trying to unseat Labour Cabinet Minister Steve Chadwick.
But after starting the day with a visit to the Yellow Pages directory office and the announcement of a $100 million commitment to complete a central Tauranga roading project, Mr Key suddenly changed tack and decided not to visit the nearby Greerton shopping mall as planned.
Supporters had gathered in the mall to welcome him but Mr Key's staff abruptly cancelled the visit when they got wind that Mr Peters was at the mall and ready to ambush the National leader.
Mr Key instead walked briefly around one of the main streets of Tauranga and mingled with locals, then left for Rotorua.
Asked yesterday if he was scared of meeting Mr Peters, Mr Key said he did not want to be part of a sideshow involving the New Zealand First leader.
"It would have been an ongoing part of the Winston Peters' soap opera - I have absolutely no intentions of becoming an actor in his version of Shortland Street," Mr Key said.
He regretted that supporters had been waiting at the mall but was confident they would understand the situation. "I ruled Mr Peters out some time ago. There can be no good that can come of a discussion we'd have because it wouldn't be a constructive one."
Mr Peters spent some of the day in Tauranga and it is not clear if his scheduled clash with Mr Peters was coincidental or a deliberate attempt to gain television airtime.
He would not talk about the issue when asked about it in Auckland later in the day.
While in Rotorua for the afternoon Mr Key reiterated his plan for his first 100 days in Government should National move into the Beehive after Saturday's election.
He said National intended to legislate before Christmas to implement April 1 tax cuts, although that depended on how long it took for a government to be formed and how soon Parliament could resume.
The other priorities were the transition package for workers made redundant as the economy worsens, and getting a 52-week course of breast cancer drug Herceptin under way before Christmas.
Law and order legislation would be prioritised and Mr Key said National would be "hitting the ground running".
He was confident the main planks of National's policy agenda would be supported by other parties that he was most likely to form a government with.
Mr Key said he was "not overly worried" about deterioration seen in the Crown accounts released during the day and it would not impact on National's plans.
"We've fully costed our plans and we'll pay for those out of the $1.75 billion of new Budget spending," he said.
The National leader visited two Rotorua tourist attractions while in town, including the Polynesian spas where he bravely approached bathers who in some cases appeared horrified to suddenly see television cameras filming them in their togs.
Mr Key also found time for a flutter at the TAB - putting $20 on Nom Du Jeu to win the Melbourne Cup.
It finished eighth.
