The Alliance says the government and Employers' Federation are working in unison.

This afternoon National's Tony Ryall leapt to the defence of the Employers' Federation. The Federation came under fire yesterday for showing partisan support for National.

"The mere fact that Tony Ryall is defending the Employers' Federation shows that National sees them as the government's cheerleaders," Alliance Leader Jim Anderton said.

"Of the 35 media releases on the Employers Federation website since July 1998, 26% of them support National and 9% are against National. None support the Alliance or Labour on any issue and a whopping 34% attack the Alliance or Labour. Interestingly 7 out of 10 of these releases can fairly be said to be anywhere other than neutral.

"Headlines such as 'Alliance attitude to jobs disappointing', 'Employer paid parental leave not popular', 'Labour fails to consider the whole picture' contrast sharply to headlines such as 'PM Statement promising', 'Cabinet re-shuffle sensible planning' and 'Government announcements reflect economic reality'.

"Tony Ryall and his mates in the Employers Federation fool no one. Unfortunately the voice of Employers in New Zealand has been taken over by the National Party at a time when business in New Zealand is crying out for more stable government than the National government can ever provide,' Jim Anderton said.

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