KEY POINTS:
National leader John Key has praised Winston Peters' efforts as Foreign Minister as he prepares to leave on his first major visit to Washington as Opposition leader.
Mr Key said the unusual arrangement of Government, with Mr Peters outside Cabinet and Government, had worked better than expected.
And he did not discount the possibility that Mr Peters could be Foreign Minister in a National-led Government.
"But I think he has done a good job, and at the end of the day we live in an MMP environment and we will cross that bridge if we come to it."
Mr Key also praised Prime Minister Helen Clark and Mr Peters for their handling of the Fiji crisis, saying they had done "as best that they they possibly could and we have supported them through thick and thin on that."
it was not an easy situation.
"On the one hand you can't live with a regime that is driven off the barrel of a gun, for a variety of very good and well-documented reasons. On the side of the coin trying to make our displeasure of that known without knee-capping everyday Fijians is not easy"
Mr Key was happy to have the differences between National and Labour on Foreign Affairs and Defence described as "thin as a cigarette paper."
That was illustrated when, within days of becoming National leader in November last year, Mr Key sharpened National's anti-nuclear policy to exactly match Labour's.
That ended the domestic confusion over whether National supported a referendum on the subject and it added to the United States' acceptance that there was no point wasting diplomatic energy to get the policy changed.
Mr Key said he would be reinforcing the bipartisan nature of the policy in Washington.
He was respectful of the United States but would emphasise New Zealand's contribution to the Pacific and Afghanistan, as a good global citizen.
Mr Key acknowledged New Zealand had run a more independent foreign policy since the end of the Anzus defence alliance and he planned to continue it.
He believed New Zealand's working relationship with Australia had improved "and you have got to give Helen Clark some credit for that but in fact, I might give a lot of credit to [Australian Prime Minister] John Howard."
Mr Key will take with him foreign affairs spokesman Murray McCully and trade spokesman Tim Groser.
