4 April 2008
Decision of the Electoral Commission – application to list EPMU as a third party

At its meeting on 2 April the Electoral Commission considered the application from Andrew Little to list the Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union (EPMU) as a third party and the objection to such a listing from David Farrar.

The objection asserted that under sub paragraph 13(2)(f)(i) of the Electoral Finance Act 2007 the EPMU is ineligible to be listed as a third party because it is ‘a person involved in the administration of the affairs of a party’.

The first question to be considered was whether sub paragraph (i) refers to a natural person or a legal person. The Electoral Commission sought a legal opinion from Crown Law on this question.

The Crown Law opinion is that in the context of section 13(2)(f)(i) of the Electoral Finance Act 2007 ‘person’ means a natural person. Accepting this opinion, the Commission concluded that EPMU could not be a ‘person involved in the administration of the affairs of a party’ and consequently determined that the EPMU is eligible to be listed as a third party.

The EPMU will be listed as a third party on Thursday 17 April 2008 unless the Electoral Commission is ordered otherwise by a court.

This decision will be published on the Elections New Zealand website at about 3pm today (4 April 2008).

The Commission will not be making any public comment.

ENDS

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