5. SIMON BRIDGES (National—Tauranga) Link to this
to the Minister of Justice
Does he stand by his statement, made during the first reading debate of the Electoral Amendment Bill, that it was his intention that all political parties and interested members of the public will have an opportunity to have input at more than one stage on the process of electoral finance reform; if so, what progress has been made to date?
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) Link to this
Yes, I stand by that statement. Today I am releasing a milestone paper that sets out the time line for electoral finance reform. This includes three formal opportunities for the public and for political parties to have a say. In response to the second part of the question, I say that today I am also releasing the scope of the electoral finance reform, which will provide the framework for the issues paper. I have consulted all parties in the House on the scope paper, and I thank them and their representatives for their willingness to engage.
Yes. The passage of the Electoral Amendment Bill earlier this year means that there is an interim regime in place to cover the upcoming by-election in Mt Albert. However, in order to put new law into place in time for the next general election, in 2011, we will need to pass legislation next year. Within that constraint we have attempted to provide as many opportunities as possible for input from the public and from political parties.