KEY POINTS:
Labour and National are in a political tit-for-tat exchange over who is behind the secretly recorded comments by National's deputy leader Bill English at a cocktail function in August.
Prime Minister Helen Clark has denied any knowledge of who is behind the recordings, while National Party leader John
Key says the tapes are part of a dirty tricks campaign led by the Labour Party.
In one of the recordings, broadcast last night by TV3, Mr English appears to question Barack Obama's ability to take tough military decisions if he becomes president of the United States.
The political finger-pointing comes as a right-wing blog site named the person who allegedly made the recordings, linking him to the Labour Party and also to cabinet minister Trevor Mallard.
Helen Clark told media in Auckland today she had never heard of the person, nor had Mr Mallard.
When asked if she could rule out any involvement by the Labour Party with the recordings or if she recognised the name, Miss Clark said she had no knowledge of it whatsoever.
" Never heard of him, Mr Mallard's name has been dragged into it - he's never heard of him, what more can I say?"
Helen Clark said National was desperately trying to distract attention from the substance of the issue by trying to blame the Labour Party for the tapes.
"The substance is the National Party constantly attacked the Labour Party for not joining the invasion of Iraq.
"Now they've tried to turn around and said 'well we never really meant that'.
"Mr English's comments show this is a very militaristic party which would commit young Kiwis to wars which have no just basis at all."
Mr English should come forward and be held to account for his comments, she said.
"What those comments convey is a sense that if there is a war going the National Party want to be part of it.
"It happened with Vietnam - some of our people never came back and those that did some have had very serious health problems and problems for their children in the decades which followed.
"There was no doubt the Iraq war was wrong, it wasn't just a question, as Mr English suggests, of trying to dress up the public relations around it, that war was wrong and we were right in not being there."
Mr Key today accused the Labour Party of running a dirty political campaign and rolling around in mud like a pig.
Mr Key was dismissive of the tape, saying National would run an independent foreign policy.
He said no one, not even TV3, knew the context of the tapes or whether they were genuine or had been doctored.
Mr Key said he had no doubts the Labour Party was behind the tapes, just as they were over the accusations he was involved in fraudulent deals in the 1980s.
"I am totally and utterly confident that the Labour Party's hands and fingerprints are all on this."
National had information about the source of the leaks, but would not be releasing it.
- NZPA