"Don't blame Rodney, Richard said it; don't blame Richard, Rodney told him to."

Treasurer Winston Peters said today the complete demolition of ACT leader Richard Prebble's bogus scaremongering about the Auckland Airport float by Shoeshine in today's NBR column is to be applauded.

"I congratulate the NBR for once, for exposing Prebble comprehensively for his ridiculous, naive and untrue statements concerning the sale of AIAL.

"I leave the country for just a few days and Prebble gets up to his old tricks of misrepresenting the facts and twisting the tale to suit his own populist notions.

"Given the trail of misrepresentation he left after his utterances about the AIAL float, it is no wonder that he dashed off to the Islands for a quick holiday - I only hope he takes advantage of his time off to read the Auckland Airport Investment Statement properly so he can be well informed about this exciting people's float.

"At least Rodney Hide only makes one economic blunder every week or so - Prebble's airport utterances contained about 10 in one outburst, or is this a case of "don't blame Rodney, Richard said it; don't blame Richard, Rodney told him to."

"It now seems both my Kaimanawa horses have more economic understanding than their ACT namesakes," Mr Peters said.