The Dalai Lama meets the then opposition leader leader John Key in 2007

Prime Minister John Key assured Chinese premier Wen Jiabao no ministers would meet the Dalai Lama -- despite a pre-election commitment to hold a meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, cables between Wellington and Washington show.

The cables from the United States embassy in Wellington reveal that in April last year, Mr Key told the Chinese premier neither he nor his Cabinet would meet the Dalai Lama when he visited New Zealand last December, the Herald on Sunday reported.

That was despite give a pre-election commitment to Friends of Tibet chairman Thuten Kesan that he would meet the exiled leader, and despite Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully telling Parliament there was no boycott.

However, a cable from Wellington to Washington quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomat Grahame Morton as saying: "PM Key had earlier conversed with Premier Wen Jiabao concerning the Dalai Lama's December 4-7 visit to Auckland, saying that neither he nor any of his ministers would meet with the Dalai Lama.

"Morton said the Chinese 'obviously registered' this. Morton added that the PM ... made this decision without any consultation, but others in the Government are still obliged to respect it."

Labour leader Phil Goff told the newspaper he knew Mr Morton and the cable would be a "reliable briefing -- and it demonstrates the Key government has not been honest with New Zealanders".

Mr Key is out of the country.

Another cable claims New Zealand's anti-nuclear legislation was influenced by wanting to cut defence costs as well as by ideology, the Dominion Post reported.

"We have been told by retired [government of New Zealand] officials who were in senior positions in the Lange government at the time the anti-nuclear policy was instituted that one of the considerations favouring the policy was that it would lead to New Zealand withdrawing or being pushed out of Anzus, thereby lessening the country's defence spending requirements at a time of fiscal and economic crisis," the cable said.

New Zealand adopted nuclear-free legislation in 1984 when David Lange's Labour government swept into power -- effectively blocking visits by US warships.

The cable also notes an attempt by the Labour government of the 2000s to move away from the traditional American and Australian influence in the Pacific by favouring China and France.

"In laying groundwork for the visit of Chinese President Hu, the Clark government privately mooted that it was necessary for New Zealand to work more closely with other powers such as China and France to curtail US and Australian influence in the region," it said.

"During the visit of the Chinese Vice-Minister for Trade, New Zealand Trade Minister [Jim] Sutton publicly claimed that China was New Zealand's most important and valued trading partner, a claim that left Australian officials here scratching their heads in wonder."

New Zealand's defence spending was criticised as being too inadequate to cover even "replacement costs for basic coastal defence hardware" and the defence force as having not enough troops for effective peacekeeping operations.

But Mr Goff defended his party's decisions.

Mr Goff said in a statement yesterday the leaked comments, by US embassy charge d'affaires Dave Burnett, were wrong.

"Labour and New Zealand were proud of our record in international affairs and Labour stands by it," Mr Goff said.

New Zealand made its own judgments on foreign policy as a proudly independent sovereign country, and our anti-nuclear weapons stance was driven by principle and was also right, Mr Goff said.

The Labour government never sought to curb the influence of the US or Australia in the Pacific, but actually encouraged the US to re-engage in the Pacific when it appeared to be disengaging, he said.

"We strengthened our trading position with China, which has hugely helped New Zealand emerge from the global recession."