National MPs have urged police to pursue Labour's lockdown leaflet distribution breach equally to anti-vaccination pamphlets handed out in violation of the alert level rules.
The topic was raised by National MP Simeon Brown during a virtual meeting of the Justice Select Committee on Thursday while Parliament has been suspended for the week.
Brown, speaking to Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, mentioned a recent NZ Herald report about police seeking information regarding anti-vaccination and COVID-19 misinformation that arrived in letterboxes during the lockdown.
"I note that there's been media reports of Labour Party pamphlets also being distributed during this lockdown and I was wondering whether you're also looking to investigate that?" Brown asked.
Before Coster could respond, Labour MP Arena Williams jumped in, and asked: "Is that a question for police in a pandemic or is that a partisan jab?"
Labour Party general secretary Rob Salmond confirmed to Newshub that pamphlets touting the Government's COVID-19 response had been distributed during lockdown by a "volunteer who didn't get the message" that it's not allowed.
It came just a week after another volunteer in Christchurch was criticised for distributing political leaflets in support of Police Minister Poto Williams during the start of Alert Level 4.
Newshub has been contacted by a man in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's Mt Albert electorate, who found Labour Party leaflets in his letterbox on Dorset St in Westmere.
Salmond told Newshub the volunteers will not face punishment, but deliverers had been contacted "one on one to reinforce the message that there should be no pamphlet deliveries at this time".
Coster said police would pursue lockdown breaches equally.
"I don't have the specifics of any of those instances. I'm sure that police in those situations will be taking an even approach," he told the committee.
"For the most part, where someone is in breach of... really what they're doing is they're leaving their home for other than recreational or essential purposes."
He said it would usually begin with a conversation with the person, asking if they realised they weren't allowed to give out pamphlets during lockdown.
"Bearing in mind, they are allowed to walk around the neighbourhood, they just shouldn't be using it for that purpose," Coster said.
"Most likely the approach would be a warning, I would expect, and possibly if it's continued behaviour where they know they're in breach of the order, then we would take enforcement action."
National MP Simon Bridges said it looks bad if police pursue the anti-vaxx pamphlet distributors but not the Labour Party volunteers.
"It wouldn't be a good look though would it commissioner, to be prosecuting crazy anti-vaxxers for pamphleteering and not investigating a number of breaches by the Labour Party for delivering their pamphlets during lockdown?"
Coster responded: "We need to bear in mind these offences are committed by individuals and we deal with each case on its merits and we will take an even approach to our enforcement, based on the circumstances."
Ardern described the distribution of Labour Party pamphlets during lockdown as "really disappointing" at her daily press conference.
"Of course we don't want this situation, of course not. We want everyone to be modelling exactly what we need at level four," Ardern said.
"We have taken a number of steps. Unfortunately, our leaflets are delivered by volunteers - wonderful, wonderful volunteers - but we have communicated with them via phone, though email, through text message, we had the president just 48 hours ago send out another reminder, to cease delivering any pamphlets.
"Unfortunately, we haven't always been successful in reaching everybody we need to, because we literally have thousands of people across the country, who in their spare time deliver leaflets.
"But we have certainly asked people to stop."
