Exclusive Brethren's Covert Smear Campaign Unmasked

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Recently, a brochure letterboxed around New Zealand and authorised by the previously unknown group New Zealand Advocates for Timely Healthcare urged a vote against the Labour Party in the September 17 election. Another, titled The Green Delusion, railed against Green Party policies. Subsequent investigations revealed the Exclusive Brethren, a fundamentalist Christian group who last year endorsed George W. Bush, were behind the $NZ500,000 campaign. The conservative Opposition National Party's leader, Don Brash, first denied knowledge of the campaign. He later confirmed he had met with the group, but insisted it was for prayer only. He subsequently confirmed he had advance knowledge of the leaflets. The anti-Green Party leaflet distributed in New Zealand is nearly identical to one distributed in Australia before last year's federal election.