Labour grabs lobby group's web address

Tension is rising between Auckland business groups and the Government over roading projects and Labour's hijacking of a website which was apparently to have been used in one group's proposed election-time campaign on roading.

A draft of the Northern Employers and Manufacturers Association's campaign strategy - which aims to harness Aucklanders' discontent over roading in the run-up to the election - was leaked to Labour last Thursday.

It contained a web address - www.revupthegovt.co.nz (see link below) - which the party discovered was not registered.

Labour bought the address and several related ones for about $500 and posted its own pro-Labour content.

The strategy's leak - parts of which the association yesterday admitted have already been rejected as too political - followed a tense meeting on Tuesday in Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen's office on Auckland's roading projects.

Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief Michael Barnett and Tony Garnier of the pro-roads Auckland Business Forum met Dr Cullen, Labour Party president Mike Williams and Transport Minister Pete Hodgson.

While Mr Barnett is now being seen by the Beehive as taking a constructive approach to the issue, the same cannot be said of Northern Employers and Manufacturers Association head Alasdair Thompson. Both Mr Williams and Mr Hodgson were scathing about him yesterday.

Mr Williams said the five-week campaign revealed by the strategy was also an ego trip for Mr Thompson, a former Social Credit candidate.

Mr Hodgson said that less than 18 months ago Mr Thompson praised the Government's $1.6 billion package for transport in the city.

"Now it seems Thompson has chosen to completely ignore the progress that is being made for the sake of raising his own profile."

Mr Williams said the campaign, which the association says will cost $150,000 to $200,000, was blatantly political. He pointed to plans for a Tui billboard reading: "Helen's an Aucklander, she'll fix our roads. Yeah right."

Another slogan - to be towed behind a plane - would read: "Honk if you like traffic. Vote if you don't."

Mr Thompson was overseas yesterday, but association spokesman Gilbert Petersen said the strategy was only a draft and some of it had been rejected as too party political.

"It is representative of some of the sentiments of that campaign but not representative of the substance. We are a policy-oriented organisation. We do not back political parties."

Mr Petersen said the web address taken by Labour was not going to be the campaign's website and "they are welcome to it".

The Auckland Business Forum would be asked to join the campaign at a meeting tomorrow.