David Farrar: undesirable features in the Electoral Finance Bill

see www.kiwiblog.co.nz

• It extends the period of "regulated speech from 90 days to around 11 months, meaning New Zealanders will spend one third of their lives restricted as to their advocacy.
• It defines as an election advertisement taking a position on any proposition that a party or candidate is associated with, which will elevate parties and MPs to first class citizens, as the moment they take a position on an issue, it becomes a restricted topic for all other New Zealanders
• It covers not just traditional advertising, but is worded so that every e-mail and every website (except non commercial blogs) fall under the regulated speech regime
• It has an almost unworkable bureaucratic system of sworn statutory declarations for any person or organisation spending even $1 expressing a view for or against a party in election year
• It bans any unincorprated society with even one member under the age of 17 from spending more than $100 a week on political issues
• It bans political parties from being able to run issue advertisements
• It requires every organisation that spends more than $100 a week or $5,00 a year on "taking a position on any proposition that a party or candidate is associated with" as having to register with the Government and reveal all non trivial sources of income.  This will affect hundreds if not thousands of organisations
• It requires third parties ot hand over anonymous donations over $500 to the Government yet allows political parties to accept anonymous donations of no limit at all.
• It restricts an organisation to $60,000 expenditure in a year on so called election advertising, which barely covers two full page newspapers ads in our largest newspaper, over 11 months.  This is a ridiculously low limit to apply for such a long period of time.
• It will legalise Labour's illegal pledge card over-spending in 2005
• It does not provide for significantly greater penalties for parties that deliberately breach the Electoral Act as happened in 2005
• It prevents a wronged party, attacked by a politician, from defending itself during an election campaign by requiring third parties to register prior to the issuing of the election writs
• It does not crack down on anonymous and trust donations to political parties despite there being a clear public consensus that it should.
• The definition of advertising and publication is so wide that e-mailing a press release, stating your views on a website (other than a non commercial blog), or even making a placard for a protest march will be regulated by the Bill
• That both third parties and political parties are greatly restricted for all of election year which will prevent them from being able to effectively respond to Government initiatives such as the Budget