Despite the shift of Government services to other centres, the Prime Minister says Wanganui is an important city.
Close to 200 members attended the National Party's lower North Island conference at the Kingsgate Hotel over the weekend, where ministers talked about their portfolios and there was examination of the party in the lead-up to next year's general election.
Mr Key told the Chronicle he and his Government saw Wanganui as an important city and region to the country.
"We are very focused on this part of the world because it produces a lot of what New Zealand wants, it's been a significant city as have its surrounding areas. Ultrafast broadband is one example; I was talking to your mayor about that last night at dinner, and obviously the roading projects the minister [Steven Joyce] talked about are a good example of that.
"There are other areas where we want to make sure we continue to support Wanganui, and the decision around Wanganui Collegiate was in part a decision based on what we thought was the importance of the school to the overall region, that it's a world-class education facility that attracts people to the region."
Mr Key also suggested RNZAF Base Ohakea, south of Wanganui, would be the focus of increased development over time.
"We have been continuing to consolidate activities at Ohakea. [RNZAF base] Whenuapai, which is, of course, in my electorate, is important. It's significant and we've invested some more money in there, but the home of the NH90 and the Agustas is obviously Ohakea.
"They've been working on other initiatives to broaden out the activity.
"They're looking, for instance, for jet training for other countries, and over time there'll be more opportunities there to look at," he said.
When questioned about the shift of government services and staff to Palmerston North and Taupo, Mr Key said it was a sign of the times. "There are advantages and disadvantages of this new digital world - a disadvantage is there's more consolidation, which is seen as more efficient by Government but that puts pressure on the regions. I wouldn't want to stop that as part of any wider agenda, but there is a focus on things which are successful and there are lots of them. You have a great agricultural base, the tourism we mentioned earlier and there's a lot on the education front to be excited about."
Mr Key, delivering the keynote address, praised Finance Minister Bill English for his work on this week's Budget and spoke of last week's float of Mighty River Power, which he considered a great success.
"People have said the float wasn't a success because only 113,000 people bought shares out of 400,000 who pre-registered. To them I say, look at Queensland Rail - more than 1 million people pre-registered but only 40,000 to 100,000 actually bought shares," he said.
Mr Key also looked at tourism, especially increased numbers from China.
"People just tend to think about cheap and cheerful Chinese trips as the only thing coming out of China. That's not true. Increasingly, they are coming as free and independent tourists in the luxury market. I go to places like Huka Lodge and I see increasing numbers of Chinese visitors.
"There is a lot of money in those markets and a lot of potential."
He also touched on the problems faced by the party over the past few weeks, including the Labour-Greens wholesale power nationalisation proposal and the media fallout over list MP Aaron Gilmore - who was due to attend the conference and take part in the Ask an MP segment but pulled out at the last minute.
He announced his resignation late yesterday, after the conference had ended.