Clark bites back over spending

Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday bit back at National's claims that she misspent taxpayer funds on Labour's election pledge card by producing a 2004 taxpayer-funded leaflet from National leader Don Brash, titled "What National Stands For".

And Labour strategist Pete Hodgson told National on Close Up last night: "If we've broken the rules, you have too."

But Dr Brash told the Herald the leaflet was vastly different from Labour's pledge card, and had been carefully checked in 2004 against Parliamentary Service Commission guidelines.

In Parliament yesterday Dr Brash again challenged Helen Clark to pay back to the parliamentary leaders' fund money spent on the campaign material.

She then waved a plastic bag with a logo on it depicting a tick for National and said the leaflet had been one of the items in the bag.

Dr Brash said later that it had been produced following the 2002 election defeat, after many people had said they had not known what National stood for.

The leaflet lists eight National values: choice, not compulsion; a hand-up, not a hand-out; self-reliance, not dependence; competition, not state monopoly; speaking honestly, not political correctness; equal opportunity, not special preferences; strong families, safe communities; and one standard of citizenship.

Dr Brash said it was a "very different kind of pamphlet from Labour's.

"We don't talk about any of the specific policies which we ran the election on."

He said the intention of such material was "to distinguish ourselves from Labour".

Asked if the intention was to attract support to National, he said: "I guess any activity we do - like getting up in the morning - is to encourage people to support National."

Police are investigating the expenditure on the pledge card - setting out Labour's seven key promises - and on a large pamphlet. Together they totalled over $400,000.

The Electoral Commission deemed them to be election material that took Labour over its $2.38 million spending limit.

The Parliamentary Service Commission, a committee of MPs who oversee Parliament's administrative systems, yesterday agreed to ask the Parliamentary Service - its public servants - to come up with an options paper on communication.

National also accused Helen Clark of refusing to meet the Auditor-General last year about a draft report he had prepared on government and parliamentary publicity and advertising, because of self-interest.

Deputy leader Gerry Brownlee said Helen Clark "sent along Trevor Mallard and Heather Simpson in her place then the matter was kicked for touch while Labour's taxpayer funded spending binge continued".

But Helen Clark said in Parliament it had been unusual for the Auditor-General to request a meeting with just two parties. The draft report should be for all parties, she said.

All three of Labour's pledge cards have been paid for from Helen Clark's taxpayer funds.


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