Labour’s Christchurch central candidate Duncan Webb is the latest member of parliament accused of spreading misinformation.

In a newsletter to his supporters this week, and posted on his Facebook page a day ago, Labour’s Christchurch central candidate Duncan Webb has claimed that under National the Matariki holiday would be “abolished” and that 10-days’ sick leave per year were “at risk” — but National has committed to keep both.

National’s Christchurch central candidate Dale Aotea Stephens told Chris Lynch Media that “Labour is growing more desperate by the day as they prove they are out of touch with what is happening across our beautiful country.”

Stephens said that “if Webb wants to run a campaign of disinformation and inaccuracies that is up to him but as a highly touted lawyer and cabinet minister I assumed being factual would have been in his DNA”.

In Webb’s newsletter this week he said, “National have made it clear that they would abolish universal free doctor’s prescriptions, would not extend cheaper childcare and 20 hours free early childcare education for two-year-olds, and stop free or half price public transport for children and young people. Matariki would be abolished and 10 days sick leave is at risk.”

However, Stephens said, “We have never said we would scrap Matariki so Webb is making this up. We have never said we would drop below 10 days sick leave per year so again, he is making this up.”

Webb has since put out a brief newsletter to his email list: “My earlier email may have made it sound like it was the National [Party] rather than the Act Party that would abolish Matariki and reverse sick leave changes. That is not the case … My apologies for any confusion.”

Furthermore, Webb told Chris Lynch Media, “My email did not make clear the distinction between the Act Party policy and National Party policy. Getting rid of Matariki is Act Party policy, however clearly it is at threat under a National-Act coalition, unless National rule it out entirely.”