Labour leader Chris Hipkins at Auckland University on Thursday. He says he has instructed his team to correct any information that is not completely accurate. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Labour has been caught out claiming National would cut free public transport for disabled people, despite never providing that support in the first place.
The party has removed an attack ad from social media which warned that "National's tax plan cuts free public transport for disabled Kiwis" under a banner reading, "coalition of cuts".
But Total Mobility users are not - and were never made - eligible for free public transport.
They are also not eligible for the half-price public transport announced in the May Budget, despite that being wrongly claimed in Budget documents.
The main Budget document, on page 51, stated that half-price public transport would be provided to "everyone aged 13 to 24 and Total Mobility Passengers".
An accompanying media release stated the lower fares "for under 25s as well as Community Service Card holders and Total Mobility Users will help over 1.6 million Kiwis save money".
The government has now admitted that the lower fares do not apply to Total Mobility Users. They instead get up to a 75 percent discount on taxi and shuttle fares, made permanent in the Budget.
The error was first revealed by Stuff after the subsidies ended for the wider public and public transport users with disabilities noticed they were being charged the full price.
A National Party spokesperson told RNZ the party had no plans to scrap the Community Services half-price public transport support, nor the Total Mobility scheme.
National's tax plan states it would end funding for the "Community Connect" programme of public transport subsidies from Budget 2023. A 50 percent concession for Community Services Cardholders was brought in via Budget 2022. Budget 2023 extended the programme to also offer the half-price Total Mobility transport, free public transport for under-13s, and half-price for ages 13 to 24.
The Labour Party's attack ad claiming National would get rid of free public transport for disabled New Zealanders. The Labour government has had to admit its own policies do not provide that. Photo: NZ Labour Party
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he had asked his team to ensure all material published was entirely accurate. He said the Total Mobility scheme had been designed for people with disabilities who could not use public transport.
"I understand there have been some issues around the way this was communicated... some of the communication has been mixed up, so I've made sure the team are going back to correct that," he said.
"I don't want any information out there that isn't a completely accurate portrayal of where the extra funding has been going... anything that's not completely accurate needs to be removed."
Hipkins, however, then wrongly told reporters that people with disabilities would be eligible for free public transport if they had a Community Services Card.
"If they have a Community Services Card, yes they do. Yeah, Community Services Card holders are eligible for free public transport," he said.
This is incorrect. Community Service Card-holders are eligible for half-price public transport.
The blunder comes after several Labour MPs made incorrect statements about what National and ACT have planned for after the election.
In a debate in Auckland on Tuesday night, a fired-up Willie Jackson wrongly claimed a National-ACT coalition would "get rid of the minimum wage".
After objection from National's Paul Goldsmith, Jackson said the parties were "selfish" and would lower the minimum wage.
Senior MP Andrew Little was also asked to remove a Facebook post after making the hyperbolic claim that National and ACT would "flog off the schools and sack all the teachers".
A newsletter sent by Labour's Christchurch central candidate Duncan Webb also claimed Matariki would be abolished and 10-days sick leave was at risk - but National has committed to keep both.
