A Minister of Finance who lectures all and sundry about tightening their belts while taxpayers are paying off his mortgage is not a terribly good look.

Finance Minister Bill English is defending taxpayers paying more than $900 a week for his $1.2 million family home in Wellington.

Mr Key tells the National Party conference the Government faces difficult economic times and a 'challenge of high and rising youth unemployment'.

Taxpayers are contributing nearly $1000 a week to allow Bill English to live in his own million-dollar Wellington home.

Taskforce chairman Don Brash is confident New Zealand can close the gap with Australian levels of productivity and income by 2025.

John Whitehead says his speech calling for a shake-up in the public service should not be read as a call for wholesale job cuts.