Wellington - New Zealand has protested to Britain about a proposed huge increase in the departure tax charged air passengers, fearing it will hurt the tourist industry, already suffering from a slump in visitor numbers because of the international financial crisis, news reports said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister John Key said he told his British counterpart Gordon Brown the increased tax on long distance passengers was a "significant concern" to New Zealand when the two men had talks in London on Tuesday.

Wellington  - New Zealand prime minister-elect John Key named his first cabinet on Monday, saying it was focussed on growth and prosperity for all, despite the current international financial crisis.

"The growth outlook is weak and international and domestic difficulties abound," he said. "This government will concentrate on boosting economic growth because that is what will lead us out of these challenging times."

After breaking the reign of the Helen Clarke's labour party for the past nine years, John Key, PM-elect of New Zealand, is in a hurry to form the Government to fight the Global Economic Crisis. Key's Party won 59 seats in the 122-seat parliament according to a preliminary count of Saturday's election.