$150m to boost police by 1000

Finance to recruit 1000 extra police will be announced today as Labour moves to fulfil its costly post-election deal with New Zealand First.

The announcement, understood to be worth around $150 million over three years, will dwarf other pre-Budget spending announcements made by the Government so far.

It is understood that about 400 extra officers will be budgeted for in the first year of the package, with the rest following in subsequent years.

Labour committed to the introduction of 1000 police as part of its confidence and supply agreement with NZ First after the last election.

NZ First law and order spokesman Ron Mark, who will be with Police Minister Annette King in Manukau for the announcement, said yesterday that the money would be used on a recruitment and retention programme as well as on the equipment and infrastructure needed to support the extra police.

"It is a huge commitment that's going to require material, batons, handcuffs, desks, office space," Mr Mark said.

The police would decide where the new officers would be stationed.

"My view is that Auckland is in desperate need."

He said he would watch carefully what the police did with the extra resources. "New Zealand First has worked hard for this ... I'm not about to see the good work undone."

Much of the new spending contained in this week's Budget is going on pre-election promises made not only by Labour, but also the minor parties which now support it in government.

Labour's Working for Families package and interest-free student loans will gobble up a large portion of the available funding, and health spending will also be increased.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said she expected the Budget to be categorised as an "investment Budget".

"Obviously it's a flow-through of well foreshadowed announcements, with substantial spending around them," Helen Clark said yesterday.

Asked how the Government would defend itself against calls for tax cuts, she noted that Finance Minister Michael Cullen had foreshadowed that the Government's accounts would go into a cash deficit shortly.

The Government also moved yesterday to fulfil a post-election agreement it made with the Greens to launch a Buy Kiwi Made campaign.

Almost $12 million will be spent on the campaign over three years.

Green MP Sue Bradford said she wanted the money to be spent on more than marketing, and she would target government departments to convince them to buy locally made products.

"We think there's just as big a culture shift needed there as with the general population," she said.

"In the case of government procurement, if you pay slightly more ... surely our government departments and state-owned enterprises should be proactively buying New Zealand-made."

Act leader Rodney Hide said the programme was the price the Government was paying for the Greens' support.

"People will buy from Kiwi companies if they offer a better product or a better price - not because politicians tell them to."

In another pre-Budget announcement, Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said an extra $8.2 million would be spent on fishing industry initiatives over the next four years.