What's National hiding?

National leader Don Brash is again refusing to be drawn on the specifics of the party's plans for tax cuts - but promises they will be "substantial".

At yesterday's National Party national conference in Wellington, Dr Brash defended his delays in announcing the package, which was originally scheduled to be announced earlier this month.

"I think it's really important that voters do have enough time. They've got to have enough time both to evaluate the tax package and to evaluate the consequential changes which we have to make," he told the Herald on Sunday.

He anticipated announcing the policy more than four weeks before election, and said that would be sufficient time for public debate.

But he also took a swipe at Prime Minister Helen Clark's failure to announce an election date yet. "That election date seems to have slipped quite significantly, and for that reason the timing of the tax cuts announcement has been delayed."

Dr Brash was already in election mode yesterday, accusing Labour of funding its election campaign from the public purse.

His speech and others were liberally dotted with appeals to "mainstream New Zealanders", a change from last year's emphasis on the so-called "Kiwi battler".

He later said the polls suggested "a two-horse race which at the moment is very evenly balanced".

Though he has been at some pains to dampen over-hyped expectations of the tax package, he acknowledged one description of the cuts as "substantial".

"You could reduce the tax payment by substantial sums of money and leave some individuals with not a huge amount in their pockets of extra money. But our intention is to ensure that mainstream New Zealanders are better off after the tax package than they are currently."

The income tax relief, combined with rejecting the Government's carbon tax and company tax cuts, would be "responsible and meaningful", he said.

Finance spokesman John Key told the conference that 11 per cent of taxpayers paid more than half the country's personal tax, prompting hundreds to flee to Australia.

"Labour is killing off the goose that laid its golden egg. But now the egg's all over their faces and the gaggle is migrating to Australia."

Meanwhile police were called to a minor security scare last night at the conference's hotel.

Staff at Wellington's Duxton Hotel detained one offender found in an stairwell, and police are believed to have later captured another.

Police arrived with lights flashing just as the conference was closing.

Police Inspector Mike Coleman said the offence had initially been reported as youths breaking into a car in the hotel carpark.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY