Labour accuses National of masterminding smear flyers

More anti-Government leaflets of mysterious origin are coming to letter boxes nationwide in what the Government is calling "subterfuge" tactics linked with the National Party.

Two smear mail-outs have already surfaced this week, one calling Labour's health policies an "uncaring legacy", the other taking aim at the Green Party, Labour's likely coalition partner.

"There's multimillion-dollar printing occurring at the Business Printing Group in Onehunga [Auckland], and two more leaflets that have not hit letter boxes yet," said Labour Party president Mike Williams.

He said the leaflets, which he claimed cost $500,000 to print and distribute, target Government policies on defence and law and order.

"It's subterfuge, clearly anti-Labour ... It's clearly coming out of the National Party.

"The leaflets are urging people to vote National. If National wants [to do this sort of thing] they should be up front about it."

The National Party has already distanced itself from the existing leaflets.

"We haven't written that thing at all, we haven't sponsored it, we haven't financed it, we totally had nothing to do with it," party leader Don Brash has said of the healthcare leaflet.

Business Printing Group general manager William Herbert said "two or three" similar leaflets should be ready for distribution by the end of the week.

The leaflets draw attention to a number of areas - including tax, health, education and defence - and urge voters to change the Government.

Mr Herbert said the leaflets were legal and at least one was authorised by M. Powell, 3 Stephen Lysnar Place, Mt Roskill. The phone directory lists P&J Anakakul at that address, but Phiriyh Anakakul says he does not know any M. Powell.

The leaflets were ordered by the Feilding-based company Fisher Print. Co-director Peter Griffin would not comment on the company's hand in the pamphlets.

He referred all inquiries to the contact person on the leaflets.

Mr Herbert said at least one leaflet had an order for more than one million copies, and each issue cost about $30,000 to $40,000 to produce.

These were the first such leaflets the company was printing. It also produced material for the Destiny Party, United Future and the National Party, he said.

Mr Williams said voters would not fall for the dirty tactics.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said she simply did not believe that National had nothing to do with the "smear leaflets" coming from "front organisations".

The material in the leaflets was "absolutely consistent" with what the National Party was saying, with the same sort of graphics and typeface used.

Mr Williams said the Labour Party was taking legal advice on the healthcare leaflet.

"If we can attribute it to the National Party, they have well and truly blown their budget and they can't win the election," he said. National yesterday distributed a wad of union literature which urges members to vote Labour and instructs voters how to fill in ballot papers to support a Labour-led centre-left government.

It included newsletters from the Council of Trade Unions, the Public Service Association, the Amalgamated Workers Union, the Educational Institute and the Service and Food Workers Union - which was authorised by its national secretary Darien Fenton, who is a Labour candidate.

National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee said it was "a bit rich" for Labour to accuse National of being behind a smear campaign while unions were "issuing all sorts of anti-National stuff".

- additional reporting: NZPA