Key tight-lipped on SuperCity mayor

Prime Minister John Key. Photo / Natalie Slade.

Prime Minister John Key is keeping tight-lipped over who he will be voting for in the race to be mayor of the Supercity.

Mayoral candidate John Banks, a National Party member, opened the National Party annual conference this morning and used the platform to further campaign for the role.

Len Brown and John Banks, a National Party member, are the front-runners in the contest.

He said he would help the Government crack down on gangs and the proliferation of liquor stores.

Later Mr Key said he had no problem with Mr Banks using his speech to continue his campaign.

"I've been around John and Len in the last seven months of 2010, and every speech I've heard from them has been a campaign speech. If they turned up to their children's birthday party, it would probably be the same."

He said he had made up his mind on who he was going to vote for, but it would not be helpful to say who it was.

"I am going to work with whoever the mayor of the Auckland Supercity mayor is, and to go out and declare [my preference], I don't think it's helpful to a long-term working relationship.

"I have huge respect for John Banks, I have huge respect for Len Brown and the other contenders."

The deciding factor may be the voter turn-out.

He said he supported National Party president Peter Goodfellow, who faces a vote this afternoon to be re-elected. But he added that he would be happy to work with whoever was elected president. The vote was in the hands of the delegates, he said.

The conference will be facing a union-led protest tomorrow, when Mr Key will announce the details of the shake-up of labour laws.

Mr Key said the changes had the support of the Act Party, which would be enough to push their plans into law.

"But obviously it would still need to a first reading and through the select committee process."

The proposals will be less draconian than labour laws in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, he said.