Electoral finance reform package announced

The Government has today announced its reform package for electoral finance laws.

Justice Minister Simon Power says the decisions are the result of a thorough process.

 "The package comes after extended consultation with all parliamentary parties and the public.

"As a result, Cabinet has decided to progress reforms only where there is broad public and political support.

"If we are to have a system which is fair, workable, enduring, and in place before the 2011 election, broad consensus is essential."

The reform package includes proposals to:

• Require disclosure of the total amount of donations that parties receive in bands.
• Increase the amount of money that parties and candidates can spend on election campaigning at the rate of inflation for each general election.
• Require people who spend more than $12,000 on parallel campaigning to register with the Electoral Commission. The register will be publicly available to ensure openness and transparency concerning the identities of parallel campaigners.
• Bring more certainty to what counts as 'election advertising' by modernising the definition and requiring the Electoral Commission to issue guidance and advisory opinions about election advertisements.
• Clarify the relationship between the Electoral Act 1993 and Parliamentary Service legislation.
• Maintain the regulated campaign period to be three months before polling day.

"There will be no change to the broadcasting regime that has existed since 1990, and similarly, as was the case before the 2008 election, we will not impose expenditure limits on parallel campaigners. New Zealanders were strongly divided on these issues.

"We will introduce legislation in the coming months implementing these decisions. We expect the new rules to be in place before the 2011 general election.

"I welcome public debate on these issues to ensure the package will provide an enduring solution to the widespread concerns which led to the initial reform of electoral finance laws following the 2005 election."

Further information about the review, including Cabinet papers can be found at: 

http://www.justice.govt.nz/policy-and-consultation/electoral/electoral-finance-reform/ 

Questions and answers:

Why has this reform package been chosen?

Electoral finance law is central to New Zealand's democratic system and needs to be based on a broad consensus. The proposals in this reform package have been chosen because there is a clear public and political consensus supporting them.

Why are expenditure limits not being imposed on parallel campaigners?

Various aspects of parallel campaigning were raised in the consultation process. The only area where there was a clear consensus was for the need for openness and transparency concerning the identity of parallel campaigners.

Why has the proposed reform to the broadcast allocation not been included in this package?

The consultation process sought feedback on three options for reform of the broadcasting funding regime in Part 6 of the Broadcasting Act 1989:

(a) Retention of status quo - retain the current broadcasting allocation regime.

(b) Moderate reform - allowing broadcasting funds to be spent in any media, and    not just radio and television.

(c) Significant reform - allowing broadcasting funds to be spent for any purpose, and not just election advertising.

Feedback shows that this area is contentious and there is not the broad-based consensus necessary for reform.

Can you guarantee that any changes coming out of the review will be law in time for the 2011 general election?

The Government is working towards enacting new legislation in time for the 2011 general election.

What will happen if there has to be an early election or a by-election prior to the enactment of the new bill?

An interim regime was established at the same time the Electoral Finance Act 2007 was repealed.  The interim regime:

• Reinstated the election expenses regime in force at the 2005 general election.
• Reinstated the other general rules that governed the publication of campaign advertisements from the Electoral Act 1993.
• Regime retained the provisions in the Electoral Finance Act 2007 that related to donations to political parties and constituency candidates, and also retained the higher penalties for electoral offences that were part of that Act.
• Included a return to a three-month regulated campaign period.

What is the current regime governing parallel campaigners?

At present, parallel campaigners do not have to register, and may spend any amount on advertising that does not support a constituency candidate or political party, but must be identified in election advertisements (by way of a promoter statement). Those advertisements supporting a constituency candidate or political party are included in the constituency candidate's or political party's expenditure limits.

What is the current campaign expenditure limit?

During the three-month regulated campaign period each registered political party is limited to spending a total of $1 million. This is regardless of the size of the party. Plus, each party can spend an additional $20,000 incl GST for each individual constituency seat it contests. 

An individual candidate is limited to spending $20,000, incl GST.

Where can I get more information about the consultation process?

Currently, the Review Scope and Milestones Papers, Issues Paper, and the Proposal Document, and the Summary of Submissions on the Issues Paper and the Proposal Document are available on the Review website: www.justice.govt.nz/electoralfinancereform. 

Will submissions be made public?

A summary of submissions is available on the Review website: www.justice.govt.nz/electoralfinancereform. 

Have all parliamentary parties been consulted?

All parliamentary parties have been consulted at each stage of the review process. It is our intention that all parliamentary parties will also be represented on a special select committee which will consider the legislation, along with the MMP referendum. We will continue to work with all parliamentary parties to achieve as broad support for the legislation as possible.

What is the next stage of the review?

Legislation implementing Cabinet decisions will be drafted and introduced in coming months. A special select committee will be established to consider the bill and hear public submissions.