Labour associate defence spokesperson Rick Barker said today he was appalled at suggestions the Prime Minister might visit Kiwi peacekeepers in East Timor - an outing that Mr Barker said would amount to a cynical, electioneering stunt.

Mr Barker said he understood from well-placed sources that a prime ministerial mission to Dili was under consideration.

"If correct this planned mission has an almost vulgar feel to it.

"We have learned this week that the daily allowances paid to our troops compare very poorly with what their Australian counterparts get. Mrs Shipley should be demanding action on that, rather than contemplating wasting money on a grandstanding visit," Mr Barker said.

"Labour strongly supports the deployment of Kiwi peacekeepers to East Timor and would rather see money spent on their remuneration packages than on Mrs Shipley's planned election stunt.

"The Prime Minister was at the Ohakea air base on Monday to farewell the first wave of New Zealanders joining the United Nations-mandated peacekeeping force. There is simply no need - other than self-indulgence - for her to call on them again.

"Let them get on with the job they have been asked to do in what is a very dangerous environment.

"I am certain that our troops in East Timor don't want the Prime Minister exploiting them for election purposes. They would rather see the money spent on topping up their allowances, which amount to about one-third those paid to the Australians in Dili.

"Perhaps, if the Prime Minister is going to Dili, the Hercules she goes in should be filled with a decent load of extra money for the soldiers' pay," Mr Barker said.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>