KEY POINTS:
Labour will come under severe pressure in the House today to explain exactly how much its deal to buy the national rail service is going to cost taxpayers.
The purchase is looking increasingly expensive as it emerges that the Beehive could be left owing Toll Holdings in Australia
up to $200 million in loans even after it has paid the agreed $665 million purchase price.
Neither Finance Minister Michael Cullen nor Prime Minister Helen Clark will confirm whether more taxpayer cash than originally thought is headed for Toll's pockets.
Both are bound by confidentiality requirements as negotiators hammer out the finer details of the purchase.
But maintaining a silence in the face of what will be a barrage of questions from National is going to be very difficult politically.
Critics who already questioned the $665 million price will see the loans as further evidence Toll has managed to extract a very good deal - one that ought to see the Aussies laughing all the way to the bank.
On the other hand, it is standard practice in a takeover to inherit not only the assets of a business but also its liabilities, so some will argue there is nothing unusual in the situation.
What is certain is that the lack of clarity around the price has created a vacuum that will be exploited by National when Parliament resumes today after a three-week recess.
Typically such a break sees parties come back refreshed and fired up.
National might be sensitive overall about the issue of asset ownership but in the case of the rail deal it senses it can convince a good portion of voters that the Government is throwing around large amounts of taxpayer money too freely.
Labour, meanwhile, is certain it has done the right thing in buying the rail service and appears confident the numbers will stack up when it can finally reveal them.
Dr Cullen has endured years of fruitless negotiations with Toll over access arrangements to the rail network so he is well aware of the company's hardball negotiation.
He now finds himself in the difficult position of trying to defend a deal without being able to say much.
It helps him that talk leaked out yesterday suggesting the liability the Government will take on is closer to $100 million.
But the fact remains - a week ahead of his crucial election-year Budget, this is the last thing Dr Cullen needs.
