A National attack ad accusing Labour of "gaslighting" the public over crime sources a third of its footage from incidents that occurred after the coalition took office rather than during Labour's term.
National leader Christopher Luxon stood by the ad's message despite some footage having been filmed under his own government, while Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen accused the party of "lying their way through this campaign".
The video, posted on multiple social media platforms, was captioned "We can't go back. Party Vote National" and "never forget how they gaslighted you".
It intercuts footage of former prime ministers Dame Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins defending crime statistics with 15 clips showing ram raids, smash-and-grabs, armed robberies and gang activity. This is followed by an infographic touting National's record on crime.
1News has confirmed at least five of those clips are from incidents that occurred after National formed a government on November 27, 2023.
The first shows a smash-and-grab by six people at a Michael Hill jewellers in Mount Maunganui's Bayfair mall on January 27, 2024, followed by an armed robbery at a Manurewa jewellery store on April 25, 2024.
A third clip, taken from a Stuff documentary filmed in Ōpōtiki ahead of the gang patch ban, shows footage from November 2024, while the fourth and fifth show boyracer events in Hamilton and Levin in April and June 2024 respectively.
1News was unable to verify the original dates of two of further clips.
Luxon stands by ad's core message
Speaking after Tuesday's caucus meeting, National leader Christopher Luxon told 1News crime was down under his government, rejecting the suggestion the party had misled New Zealanders with the advertisement.
"No, not at all. Crime is down - 37,000 fewer victims of serious violent crime, serious youth offending down 26%, ram raids down 85%, police up on the beat by over 100%. New Zealand's feeling much safer than they were three years ago," Luxon said.
"When you have soft-on-crime policy from the Labour Party, what happened? Crime went up - violent crime went up 30%. We had a quadrupling of ram raids and a doubling of retail crime, so our record on law and order is a very strong one."
Pressed on why the party's ad used footage of crimes committed during its own time in government, Luxon said some of the clips may have been filmed before National's law changes had fully taken effect.
"But isn't the key message that you really care about, that there are 36,000 fewer victims of violent crime, families having to go through the trauma of being victimised in the way they have? That's what the message is about. Ram raids are down 85%. That should be something we should be celebrating."
Asked again about the discrepancy, Luxon said the ad's broader point stood.
"Go look at Labour's record on crime and ask yourself: three years ago, was New Zealand safer in their communities, their businesses and their homes? No, because Labour was out of control on crime."
Chris Hipkins responded to a National Party attack ad on Labour that featured crimes carried out while the current government was in office. (Source: Breakfast)
National's campaign chairperson, Simeon Brown, also acknowledged the footage was taken before the party's law changes came into effect.
"Most of those scenes were prior to when the legislation came into effect," Brown told 1News on Tuesday.
"We've changed the law - we've got rid of gang patches, put in tougher consequences for crime, and given judges more discretion. All of that means people are feeling safer on our streets than they were under Labour."
Asked whether he personally signed off on the ad, Brown said he did not, but declined to say whether it would be removed given the footage's origin.
Pressed on whether he had been honest with the public, Brown did not directly answer, saying: "We are being very focused and very honest about the fact that we've changed the law."
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was another example of National "lying to the New Zealand public".
"They can't campaign on their own track record, so all they can do is make up lies. The Advertising Standards Authority has found that they're lying to the New Zealand public.
"If the Advertising Standards Authority say they're lying, why should New Zealanders believe anything the National Party is saying?"
Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen accused National of being intent on "lying their way through this campaign".
"They’ve been caught out using footage from their own time in office. It's not surprising - National has completely failed on law and order," she said.
"They promised 500 more police but failed to deliver. Instead, all they’ve delivered is more gang members, more meth use, and more broken promises. We can't afford three more years of National."
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