National questions postcard campaign tactics

National has questioned tactics where a group organised an anti-privatisation postcard campaign without stating who they were on the postcards.

However, Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) organiser Murray Horton said it was no secret they were behind the postcards.

He sent an email out to organisations and individuals saying they could order hard copies of the postcards or fill in the emailed one -- and then send them to MPs saying they did not want education, health or transport privatised.

The email said: "We believe that all the politicians running in this year's election, whether sitting MPs or those wishing to join them, need to be told in no uncertain terms that the people of New Zealand do not want any more privatisation in any of its myriad forms."

The postcard lists items not to be privatised and ended: "I will not be voting for any candidate or party who supports full or privatisation of our public assets and infrastructure."

National Party deputy leader Bill English said the party had received about six of the cards from different parts of the country. He did not know the cards were distributed by CAFCA when he commented and said the points on the card were similar to what Labour and the Greens have based attacks against National on.

"It looks like a secret campaign that is coordinated with government attacks (and) that might break the law under the Electoral Finance Act."

Mr Horton said the campaign had nothing to do with Labour or Green parties and was not covert. He did not think there was any need to identify CAFCA on the cards.

"We thought about this ... if CAFCA was sending thousands of these cards out we would put it under our name. We simply distributed them."

The people who sent the cards had put their names and addresses -- and some had been contacted by National MPs.

"How can it possibly be covert when there's somebody's name and address and phone number on it?"

Mr Horton said the card was not aimed at any specific party.

"It doesn't say anywhere on the card `do vote for or don't vote for' ... it simply says `I'm not going to vote for a party that advocates (privatisation)' ...

"I can understand why National is feeling sensitive about it right now, but these things have been going out for a couple of weeks."

National's position on opening ACC up to competition was highlighted yesterday.

Mr Horton said the postcard could easily be sent to Labour MPs over public private partnerships, for instance in relation to Auckland roading projects.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union and Maritime Union of New Zealand had put in orders to get the postcards.

An Electoral Commission spokesman said it had not received a complaint. However, the postcards would not count as being published under the Electoral Finance Act if they were sent to membership or people the group knew. An example of when they would be considered published would be if they were handed out on the street.

Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said she could see no problem with the postcards.

"I don't see that there's anything wrong with sending a party a postcard saying `we don't like what you are doing'. That happens to us, that happens to all parties," she said.

The Greens were the subject of an anonymous campaign before the last election.

"I don't see any parallel, the Exclusive Brethren distributed information to the public which was inaccurate about Green Party policy and didn't say who they were.

"This is a postcard to the National Party, not to the public, signed by individuals and not making claims about them but saying `we don't want privatisation'. I see it as totally different."