"Richard Prebble's claim that Act will not be party to any government which relies upon New Zealand First simply cannot be believed," Labour campaign spokesman Pete Hodgson said today.

"In claiming that he won't accept New Zealand First support, Mr Prebble is trying is to court the vast majority of New Zealanders who are horrified at the prospect of Winston Peters again holding the country to ransom.

"But he cannot expect anyone to believe him. He is the puppet of big corporate backers and he will do what they tell him to do. There is no way they will allow Act to let in a centre-left government if there is any way that can be avoided.

"Fortunately the prospect of a National-Act government shoving through radical right-wing change that would alter the face of New Zealand forever has never had any appeal to mainstream voters. Faced with a clear choice between that nightmare and the agenda of rebuilding a society based on the strong New Zealand values of fairness, opportunity and security under a Labour-led government, the choice facing New Zealanders is clear.

"Mr Prebble's claim to spurn New Zealand First's support is ever more dubious in light of his record in spending the last 18 months in cahoots with Alamein Kopu, Tau Henare and Tuku Morgan to keep in office a tawdry government with no electoral mandate.

"Remember also that this was the man who promised to save rail and who completely misrepresented the Infometrics report on the TV3 leaders' debate. Why on earth would anyone believe a word he says?

"The choice this election is increasingly clear: it is the return of a Labour-led government, or a return of the shambles that has characterised New Zealand politics for the past three years as National has tried to square off its strange bedfellows of Mr Prebble, Mr Peters and a ragtag mob of independents," Mr Hodgson said.

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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>>