In his report on advertising expenditure in the 2005 election funded by Parliamentary Services, the Auditor-General helpfully supplies a decision-making flowchart used when determining the legality of particular pieces of advertising. While this is a very fine thing, whether such a simple process can be so robust is a matter of debate.

For example, some suggest that it does not reflect the prevailing regime and practical realities on all sides in terms of interpretation of the rules.

I myself consider the Auditor-General's thinking inadequate in that it fails to reflect the prevailing views on all sides regarding what people think he was thinking.

I therefore propose the following, which, while giving much the same results, more fully reflects generally-held beliefs about the Auditor-General's reasoning.

I realise, swift though I have been, my contribution has come too late to be included in any validating legislation. This is not to complain - the most appropriate way to correct bungled laws of course in as much haste as possible.

However, when the time comes to hastily amend the urgent validation, I humbly put forward the following scheme for the clarification of the tricky question of appropriate use of public money.

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ENDS