Labour gets tough to fight National tactics

By Vernon Small

Labour is rethinking its tactics and injecting more negativity into its campaign after being forced onto the back foot by a series of National ploys.

Rising public approval of Prime Minister Jenny Shipley since Apec, business sector groups attacking Labour's industrial relations policy and spoiling tactics by National have taken the wind out of Labour's sails.

Just a month ago a clear Labour-Alliance victory looked likely but latest polls show the centre-left's lead being eroded.

Labour has suffered from a calculated National campaign to piggyback on policy releases with its own announcements.

After a leak National managed to drip-feed Labour's flagship health policy and earlier it released details of West Coast logging contracts the day Labour unveiled environment policy.

Strategists said Helen Clark would continue to front a positive campaign, but the party recognised it had been too passive in the face of National's "in your face" tactics.

Deputy leader Michael Cullen signalled the new tack yesterday, pointing to hundreds of jobs lost at Bendon plants as a sign National had failed to support manufacturing.

He slammed finance-sector economists and commentators who backed National's hands-off economic management, saying they did not understand the real economy.

He said National's "brat pack" of young ministers had no answers.

Industry spokesman Pete Hodgson is today expected to put numbers to Labour's claim that National's policies have "hollowed out" the manufacturing sector.

Among a rash of get-tough press statements, health spokeswoman Annette King defended Labour's plan to scrap the Health Funding Authority and introduce elected members to district health boards.

"It is nonsense to argue that we should stick with the present cumbersome system because some people feel they've had enough of restructuring," Annette King said.

She said 67 per cent of New Zealanders wanted to change the health system and Labour's moves would save tens of millions of dollars, including $3.8 million a year paid to "faceless business people" on boards.

Mild-mannered Labour senior whip Mark Burton used a normally apolitical call for voters to enrol to launch a vehement attack.

"Voting is the only way New Zealanders can make their loathing clear for the corrupt, self-serving, unprincipled, student-hating, Maori-bashing, money-grubbing Government a National-Act coalition would produce."