MPs climbing on the talkback hustings

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They're not necessarily first-time callers or long-time listeners, but some Labour MPs have taken to calling talkback radio to spread their message.

NewstalkZB host Kerre Woodham noted on her Facebook page that Labour's finance spokesman David Cunliffe and Labour leader Phil Goff had called in unprompted.

She asked: "Avid fans and loyal listeners? Or politicians low in the polls using the airwaves as hustings?"

A spokesman said Mr Goff was prompted to ring in after listening to the station while on his way home from the airport.

"He heard someone saying something silly on talkback about the tax policy so he rang in. Sometimes when he's being driven in a car he likes listening to talkback because he likes listening to what Kiwis say, but he doesn't normally ring in."

He said Labour was not monitoring talkback so MPs could call in. He did not know if Mr Goff was a first-time caller, but said many MPs rang in from time to time.

Mr Cunliffe said he was also on his way home from the airport when he heard a debate about the capital gains tax, so rang in. He had rung talkback before, including Kerre Woodham's show.

"There's been no premeditated strategy of ringing talkback. It's typically if it's something I'm working on and there is a public debate I might chime in. But I always say who I am."

Claire Robinson, a political communications commentator at Massey University, said calling talkback would be a worthwhile strategy for Labour.

"It's the same as the Government not using National Radio very often. It's using the channels of communication that the ordinary Kiwi listens to rather than the more intellectual.

"As a strategy it's not bad because you do reach more of middle New Zealand that way and quite a lot of people who listen to talkback are reasonably conservative voters. Those are the people Labour definitely needs to be speaking to to try to swing some of those votes away from National."