The National Party says in the past five years government agencies have taken on an extra 210 communications staff and contractors under the Labour-led administration.
National says the total number of spin doctors on the taxpayers' payroll is now 448, at an annual cost of $50 million.
State services spokesman Gerry Brownlee says it is a cunning move which has been some time in the making. He says with the Electoral Finance Act coming into play the only big spender in the coming campaign will be the government pushing its own barrow.
Brownlee says the public are being fed more propaganda than fact and there are now more journalists working for the administration than for all the major newspapers combined.
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