Government accused of spreading superannuation 'propaganda'

11.50am

The Government's $1 million taxpayer-funded advertising campaign for its superannuation fund is propaganda designed to "con the public" Greens co-leader Rod Donald says.

Material for the April 28-May 11 campaign, described by Finance Minister Michael Cullen as an "information campaign to educate the public", was cleared by the Audit Office.

It aimed to raise awareness of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, into which the Government is putting about $2 billion a year to start helping with superannuation payouts in about 30 years' time.

Mr Donald told NZPA the advertisements were factually correct but told only half the story.

"The adverts don't make it clear that the Government intends to put the money into the overseas sharemarket and therefore the funds may actually lose the money rather than make any," he said.

"I'm not impressed. It's a $1 million propaganda campaign designed to con the public into believing that the Government is on the right road."

Mr Donald planned to check the matter with the Audit Office again but believed the Government had got away with the campaign -- money he believed would have been better spent offering incentives to employers to provide subsidised superannuation schemes.

National's superannuation spokesman Gerry Brownlee said his party would lodge a complaint with the auditor-general that the campaign was cleared so close to an election.

Elections are usually held late in the year, around November, but speculation is rife that Prime Minister Helen Clark will go to the polls early.

"We think that it's come about so close to an election that it clearly steps outside the bounds of it being a public broadcast for information purposes and is, in fact, a blatant exercise in politicking," Mr Brownlee told NZPA.

The campaign also failed to explain the fund would provide only about 10 per cent of super needs, and that was "on a good day".

National hoped to write to the auditor-general today.

"It was always too late to stop it but the point is we don't want taxpayer funding being used for other political campaigns in the next couple of months," Mr Brownlee said.

- NZPA