The announcement initiated campaigning expected to focus on the economy, the South Pacific nation's role in the war on terrorism and its 20-year non-nuclear policy.

National Party leader Don Brash, a former head of New Zealand's central bank, has pledged tax cuts if he wins power. Clark has said she will not cut taxes but will continue to invest in areas such as health, law and order and education and said Brash could send troops to Iraq if elected.

Brash said July 25 that "New Zealanders want to make it clear they want no more politically correct social engineering," adding that "Labor's spending machine" had to be reeled in and affirmative action plans for indigenous Maori -- an impoverished minority of 530,000 -- scrapped. Brash last year described extra supports for low-income Maori as racist and promised to eliminate them, sparking a surge in support for his party.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 30, 2005
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