"The first rule in New Zealand politics is never to believe a single thing Richard Prebble says," Labour front bench MP, Trevor Mallard, said today.

"His promises now not to deal with New Zealand First are as worthless as his 1984 promise to "save rail."

"Remember Act's record. It has joined Alamein Kopu to support Tau Henare and Tuku Morgan in a tawdry government with no mandate from the electorate.

"The fact is that Richard Prebble and Act can grandstand as much as they like but they are not masters of their own destiny. They are the puppets of Telecom and their other big corporate bank-rollers and their mission is to deliver the Business Roundtable's hard Right economic prescription.

"The huge tax cuts Act is proposing for business and their mates will cost $3 billion - money that will be taken from the poorest New Zealanders in reduced spending on health, education and superannuation.

"That is what Act and its backers are really about. The populism of their Maori-bashing and beneficiary-bashing policies is a cynical attempt to disguise the elitism of their real agenda," Mr Mallard said.

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