The Taxpayers’ Union has filed a complaint with the Electoral Commission and the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office over Lawrence Yule’s new taxpayer funded billboards promoting Mr Yule as the ‘Voice in Tukituki’.

Union spokesman, Louis Houlbrooke said: “Mr Yule has been the Tukituki MP for nearly three years, but in the last month, taxpayer funded billboards are going up in his electorate to remind people that he’s their ‘Voice in Tukituki and Parliament’. This is straight up election campaigning courtesy of hard-earned taxpayer money, which is not allowed.”

“MPs are allowed to advertise their contact details and information, but including a small contact number on a large scale billboard doesn’t tick the box for this. It appears Mr Yule is using his role as a local MP to shovel money into unlawful electioneering. If MPs can’t follow the rules, why should we?”

“If we are correct and the Electoral Commission deem the billboards as ‘election advertisements’, Mr Yule will have to remove the billboards and be obliged to pay back the costs to the Parliamentary Service so taxpayers aren’t left out of pocket.”

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