An attack ad campaign targeting National Party leader Christopher Luxon has accidentally been launched early.
A digital billboard spotted in Auckland this morning featured a black and white image of Luxon with the slogan “Out of touch. Too much risk”.
It was on the corner of Sandringham Rd and St Lukes Rd and has since been removed.
The billboard said it was authorised by Richard Wagstaff who is the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions [NZCTU] president.
Wagstaff said it was not authorised by him to be put up today and the union was yet to sign off on the final version.
The advertising firm involved has apologised and taken the ad down, Wagstaff said.
He did not know whether more than one billboard was involved.
But Wagstaff confirmed NZCTU is scheduled to run a political advertising campaign next week.
“Because we are really worried about the risks that a National-led government holds for working people - end of FPA’s (Fair Pay Agreements), 90-day trials, big cuts to public services and so on.”
Wagstaff said he would be happy to talk about more details of the campaign, including its scope, next week when it had actually launched.
National’s campaign chairman Chris Bishop said the ad represented a negative campaign that put politics above people.
“On the day National released its tax relief policy to boost the incomes of middle-income Kiwis doing it tough under Labour’s cost of living crisis, Labour’s mates in the unions have demonstrated how little they care about how hardworking people by launching baseless attacks on National to prop up a Labour Party that’s done nothing but made workers worse off.”
Achievements the Labour Party mentions on its website relating to workers include increasing the minimum wage to $22.70 per hour, introducing Fair Pay Agreements to improve wages and conditions, and restoring meal and rest breaks.
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
Constable Vincent Kahui joined in after much encouragement from the crowd.