Bill English MP

National Party Deputy Leader

24 July 2007

Labour screws electoral scrum

"Labour's election finance reform should be renamed the 'Save Labour Bill' because it is so heavily weighted in favour of the Labour Government," says National Party Deputy Leader Bill English.

"The bill is drafted to drastically reduce election-year spending by Opposition parties and Labour critics. Labour wants strict rules and spending caps to cover the whole of election year, not just the three months before the election.

"Helen Clark and Michael Cullen are trying to control public opinion for almost a year running up to the 2008 election.

"Meanwhile, Labour will be legally allowed to bombard voters with taxpayer-funded advertising.

"It is no wonder that Labour is going to such great lengths to stack its departmental communications jobs with political appointments." Mr English says the bill needs much tougher sanctions.

"Labour will be able to do exactly what it did last election - breach the spending limits by hundreds of thousands of dollars with no consequences because the sanctions are so weak."

He says the requirements for third-party advertising are draconian.

"National opposes covert campaigns and the law already requires transparency. However, the law doesn't work because of the lack of sanctions.

"Third parties should be required to reveal their identity but all other provisions are designed to block Labour's critics in 2008.

"This legislation should be about fair and democratic elections, where Kiwis are encouraged to take part.

"Instead, the party which produced the pledge card has now dreamed up a self-serving anti-democratic law designed to silence critics and save their own skins."

ENDS

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