KEY POINTS:
The buzzword inside Labour is "renewal".
At the halfway mark in its third term in Government, the party doesn't need to be told what it must do if it wants to stay in power beyond next year.
The party's hierarchy has set twin objectives of renewal, in terms of personnel and policy.
The first is happening, albeit very slowly. Georgina Beyer has quit, Marian Hobbs will not stand again and it is thought Paul Swain and Dover Samuels will step down at next year's election or before.
Pressure is being exerted on their backbench colleagues who have either held ministerial office or who are never likely to hold office to step aside for new blood.
By the end of this year, Labour wants to be in a position where it can point to a smart and talented new generation of MPs-in-waiting.
The public may not take much notice. The important thing is that the media do.
Renewal also requires the Prime Minister to reshuffle her Cabinet, either at the end of this year or early next year. While her front bench is being wounded more often by a revitalised National line-up, it still contains some formidable operators.
The new ministers appointed after the last election are generally performing well above requirements. Helen Clark's problem centres on middle-ranked ministers who are either in the wrong portfolios or have been too long in any portfolio.
On the policy front, things are more dire. When it comes to lifting voters' sights, the Prime Minister's visionary goal of making New Zealand carbon-neutral sits in splendid isolation.
No dates, no timetable. But no matter. Labour is now positioned to ride the surging wave of environmental politics for all it is worth - with one proviso.
Come election time, Labour must have bitten the economic bullet and at least outlined a "polluter-pays" mechanism if it is to be regarded as serious about cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
Otherwise, carbon neutrality will end up being buried under the current mountain of discussion documents.
The "greening" of Labour's brand is being done under the banner of "sustainability" - jargon as yawn-inducing as "economic transformation", Labour's other equally less-than-sexy catchphrase.
While ministers are pressuring their departments to come up with fresh initiatives, the danger is that John Key will get there first.
On Monday, Key will give a speech on education standards - basically a pitch to the hearts and minds of middle New Zealand parents worried about the progress (or rather the lack of it) their children are making in learning basic subjects.
Above all, Labour must find some way to stall Key's momentum.
