KEY POINTS:
National has bounded ahead of Labour on the Herald's Porkometer, after it finally unveiled the tax cut plan it hopes will woo voters.
The Porkometer measures the pre-election spending promises of both major parties.
It has been showing Labour's $10.6 billion tax cut programme since it was announced
in May's Budget.
As a result, there has been a big gap between the two parties for a long time.
National's tax cut programme unveiled on Wednesday is worth $16 billion over its full term.
Although it is achieving $6 billion of this by making spending cuts elsewhere, for the Porkometer's purposes the full amount is added to the party total.
This is partly because leader John Key and deputy leader Bill English have talked about the size of the package at this level, not at $10 billion - and the Porkometer focuses on the messages the parties are giving voters.
National is not selling its tax policy to voters as a tax cut worth $18 more than Labour's tax package, but rather as the full amount of the tax cut, which adds up to $16 billion.
When the Porkometer is calculated, it will be made clear in the written component if some spending promises are being offset by cuts elsewhere.
National's total has also been boosted by $58 million for a new prison to service the party's toughening of law and order policies.
When the prison was first discussed by National in July, it was added to the Porkometer at a cost of $300 million. But this week's policy announcement costed the project at an additional $58 million, including an operating cost of $43 million a year.
New health policies include $180 million over five years to build 20 new dedicated elective surgery theatres, and $60 million over three years to train 800 additional medical professionals to staff the theatres.
Another $13 million a year is expected to be spent encouraging GPs with special skills to provide a wider range of minor surgery in their clinics.
These health announcements would be financed by National out of the indicative spending allowances flagged in the latest government books - which have not previously been added to the party's total.
National's Porkometer figure gets $1.3 billion chopped off it because the party has reduced its pledge to put an extra $5 billion into infrastructure over six years.
That figure was added to National's total when the pledge was made, this year but the party has pulled back on the policy because of concerns about lifting debt too far as fiscal and economic outlooks worsen.
On the other side of the ledger, Labour has been making smaller announcements over the week.
They include $40 million to buy St James Station, a 78,196ha North Canterbury property Prime Minister Helen Clark said would be protected for future generations.
She has also pledged $1.5 million for the FIFA under-17 Women's World Cup football competition.
Labour has made a series of announcements in the health area as well this week, but they are to be paid for with money from the additional $750 million committed to health which has already been included in the party's total.
