KEY POINTS:
In Parliament's last debate before the election, National Party deputy leader Bill English yesterday accepted Helen Clark's proposition that the coming election would be about trust - but applied it to Labour's promised tax cuts.
Labour used the debate to reinforce how evasive National leader John Key looked on TVNZ on Monday when he was asked about the number of Tranz Rail shares he had owned.
Mr English made the most politically charged speech because his leader, John Key, ran out of puff with a hoarse and strained voice.
Prime Minister Helen Clark, who was in Auckland, has said the election will be about trust in leadership.
Labour's first round of tax cuts start on October 1 - next Wednesday.
Mr English said that Labour had had to legislate for its cuts after it broke its 2005 promise to start delivering tax cuts.
The former finance minister said the cuts coming in next week had had to be enshrined in law.
"Like an alcoholic who cannot go into a bar without getting off his or her face, Dr Cullen has had to legislate against himself," Mr English said.
"He has had to pass legislation for tax cuts on October 1, just in case he breaks that promise."
Mr English said it was still possible for Labour to break its promise about the second lot of tax cuts, which were due in 2010.
"If Labour broke its promise to deliver on tax cuts in 2006 when it had record surpluses, what will the self-styled fiscal conservative Dr Cullen do after the 2008 election if he is re-elected when he faces record deficits?
"If this election is about trust, then Labour cannot be trusted on tax cuts.
"It's time to sweep the dry rot out of the Beehive."
Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen said the election would be about trust but he concentrated on trust in leadership. "This election is going to be about trust versus the supposed desire for change," said Dr Cullen.
"Trust, because Helen Clark has demonstrated the ability to be a superb political manager, to deliver what she said she will, and not to deliver what she said she won't deliver which is at least as important in politics - not to visit people with nasty surprises on made-up excuses."
Dr Cullen then referred to the haunting television footage in which Mr Key told the truth about how many shares he had owned, 100,000, only after being prodded by the reporter.
"Against that we have basically a promise not to change any policies, which is a very strange position for an opposition party to take, the extraordinary series of flip-flops, the inability of Mr Key to stick to a question and answer for more than two seconds at a time, and the rerun and rerun and rerun of Monday's TV interview encapsulating within 10 seconds everything that we are learning - and the public is starting to see more and more about Mr Key."
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters told National, which has ruled out working with New Zealand First post election, that it would be kidding itself if it thought it would have the numbers to govern.
"You're going to be way short," Mr Peters said, "and in this business you never, never, never say never. Only a fool would do that."
