Electoral Finance Act

Electoral Finance Act 2007
The purpose of this Act was to strengthen the law governing electoral financing and broadcasting, in order to- (a) maintain public and political confidence in the administration of elections; and (b) promote participation by the public in parliamentary democracy; and (c) prevent the undue influence of wealth on electoral outcomes; and (d) provide greater transparency and accountability on the part of candidates, parties, and other persons engaged in election activities to minimise the perception of corruption; and (e) ensure that the controls on the conduct of electoral campaigns- (i)are effective; and (ii) are clear; and (iii) can be efficiently administered, complied with, and enforced.
Date of Royal Assent	19 December 2007
Date commenced	20 December 2007, repealed on 17 February 2009
Introduced by	Hon. Mark Burton, 26 July 2007
Related legislation
Electoral Act 1993
Status: Repealed

The purpose of this Act was to strengthen the law governing electoral financing

The Electoral Finance Act 2007 was a controversial act in New Zealand. The Electoral Finance Bill was introduced by the Fifth Labour Government partly in response to the 2005 New Zealand election funding controversy, in particular "third-party" campaigns.

The proponents of the bill generally held that it was required to prevent wealthy private parties from "buying elections" anonymously via advertising campaigns or other financially costly lobbying, while the opponents considered it a serious restriction of civil liberties, and further considered that spending private money on political campaigning was a democratic right.

The Act amended numerous areas of New Zealand electoral law, but was repealed on 17 February 2009. Principally and most controversially it regulated "third party" election campaigns

The Act made it illegal for anyone to spend more than NZ$12,000 criticising or supporting a political party or taking a position on any political matter, or more than NZ$1,000 criticising or supporting an individual member of parliament, without first registering with a state agency, the Electoral Commission.

The Bill as introduced required that unregistered third parties file statutory declarations before publishing election advertisements.

The Bill originally limited the spending of registered third parties on political advertising to $60,000, but this was later increased to $120,000 by the Select Committee.

The regulation of third parties also extends to their finances. The Act requires that third parties disclose all donations they receive over $5000. Anonymous donations that third parties receive over this level must be given to the State.

The Act extends the "regulated period" for election campaigning from the previous 90-day period to the period starting on 1 January of election year – from three months to around ten, depending on the timing of the election. During this period electoral advertising by candidates, political parties and third parties must follow election rules, and spending limits apply.

The Coalition for Open Government, a group that advocates the reform of election finance law in New Zealand, opposed parts of the Bill, particularly the failure of the Bill to ban secret donations to political parties, given the strong financial disclosure requirements placed on third parties.

The broad definition of "election advertisement" came in for particular criticism. Critics, including the New Zealand Law Society, Catholic charity Caritas, and the Royal New Zealand Forest and Bird Society argued the definition will catch not just electoral speech, but almost all political speech – including things like placards at protest marches.

...
Wikipedia