Swarbrick says National's attacks amount to cyber-bullying

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says National's election campaign attacks on her amount to "nasty" and hysterical cyber-bullying. Speaking to RNZ's Morning Report, she said she was "effectively being cyber-bullied by the most powerful people in the country."

The National Party has repeatedly claimed that Swarbrick would become finance minister if the government loses power. The finance minister is the cabinet minister in charge of the government's finances. Swarbrick said it was "100 per cent" reasonable to debate her aim to be finance minister.

She said she wanted to debate policy, including the Greens' wealth tax proposal. She challenged National's finance spokesperson, Nicola Willis, to a "good, clean" debate.

Swarbrick said the attacks now appear in every interview and every speech by the Prime Minister, not only on social media. RNZ counted National's Instagram posts over the past six days. It found that 37 of the party's 94 posts featured the Greens or Swarbrick.

Swarbrick said National "are hysterical, and they are throwing haymakers on the way down", using a boxing term for wild, swinging punches.

Simeon Brown, National's campaign manager, declined Morning Report's request for an interview.

In late October, National published a video titled "Don't Risk Chloe Swarbrick as Finance Minister". The video urged voters to "Party Vote National". National's Facebook page hosts the clip.