April 4, 2008
Media Release

National fails to understand electoral law - EPMU

Bill English has failed to understand the Electoral Finance Act says the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union.

The National Party deputy leader issued a statement this afternoon claiming the decision opened the door to parallel campaigning – something the law was never intended to stop.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says English’s take on the situation is riddled with errors.

“Not only does Bill English show he has no idea of the relationship between affiliated unions and the Labour Party, he also ascribes an intention to the law that was never there, and to complete the trifecta he cites examples that are explicitly excluded from third party status such as wholly subsidiary groups like Labour Party branches.

“The intent of the act was always about making sure third party campaigns were transparent, which is no issue for us as democratic transparency is part of our day to day operations. I doubt the National Party, its secret backers and many of its third party supporters can claim the same.

“In the 2005 election 90% of donations to the National Party were anonymous – that’s why they don’t like transparency.”

The EPMU will be campaigning on its members’ issues this election, just as it has every election year.

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