Two Labour Party backbench MPs have had near-identical opinion pieces published side by side in local Waikato newspaper Hamilton Press.

Jamie Strange and Priyanca Radhakrishnan both submitted short opinion pieces on the Christchurch terror attack. They were published on pages eight and nine of the paper, alongside a piece from National's Stuart Smith.

The two Labour pieces begin by explaining gun law changes ("every weapon now used in the Christchurch terror attack is now banned") and acknowledge the firearm-owning community ("I want to thank them for their pragmatism and solidarity.")

They go on to share identical paragraphs across three-quarters of the article.

When identical phrasing is highlighted (see below) a channel of relief from the bright yellow is only provided by Smith's column, placed between the two Labour pieces, which also discusses to Christchurch terror attack.