5. Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) Link to this
to the Minister of Justice
Is the Government considering further amendments to the Electoral Finance Bill; if so, what are they?
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Justice) Link to this
I have already signalled one policy change to amend, in clause 17, the date from which third parties cannot list with the Electoral Commission. Any other changes are likely to be technical. Officials are looking at these, and I expect to receive advice soon. I would certainly be discussing any amendments with the member.
Does the Minister acknowledge that the Prime Minister’s comments yesterday that the Government was looking at further amendments, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission’s comments this morning about some of the practical difficulties she envisages with the law, and the Minister’s own comments in the House this afternoon in response to earlier questions imply a level of uncertainty that gives strength to the Law Society’s call for the bill to be referred back to the select committee for further consideration?
No, I do not. I have said to the member that I propose one policy change, and it is actually one that has been discussed with parties. It was expected that the correction would be made in the select committee before the bill was reported back to the House, but that did not happen. It ought to be corrected. I am told that there could be some technical amendments. I have not seen them yet. But I know that the member has been here long enough to know that often, in any bill, technical amendments are made to make sure that we have, as the Law Society would like us to have, the best bill possible.
Gordon CopelandAre the enforcement, penalty, and prosecution provisions of the Electoral Finance Bill sufficient or do they require amendment, having regard to the fact that when the Labour Party exceeded its electoral spending cap for the 2005 election by several hundred thousand dollars, no prosecution followed?
The penalties in the bill are those decided by the majority of members on the select committee. I accept the advice the select committee has given to this House.
Do I take it from the Minister’s earlier answers that she is ruling out any significant policy changes being introduced by way of amendment to this bill as it proceeds to its Committee stage, including making reference to an independent review of electoral spending arrangements as part of this bill?
I have signalled the major policy change—if the member wants to call it that—that I would bring in; it is the Supplementary Order Paper. That is the only one that I know of. [ Interruption] I do not have that as a Supplementary Order Paper.
Heather RoyWill the Minister consider introducing amendments to ensure that people exercising freedom of speech who carry a placard, speak through a microphone, or upload a video to YouTube are not criminalised through this bill; if not, is it her intention that New Zealanders who participate in democracy in the way that hundreds of people did yesterday, by protesting outside Parliament with placards and megaphones and by putting up videos on YouTube, will be charged under this legislation?
Eighty people protested outside Parliament yesterday. In fact, I saw more people protest about the change from glass milk bottles to cardboard ones than we saw outside here yesterday. However, those people have the right to protest, and nothing they did out there, in my view, could be seen to mean they could be put in jail or be charged with an offence that would criminalise them, because the law of common sense would apply. Carrying a 1c placard would hardly be seen to be a criminal offence.