Little Andrew: Appointments — Electoral CommissionText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Appointments — Electoral Commission[Sitting date: 10 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15423. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW LITTLE (Labour): It is a pleasure to rise and to indicate Labour’s support for the appointment of Justice Williams to a further term of 3 years as chair of the Electoral Commission. Justice Williams has had an exemplary period on the bench and has fulfilled a number of other public roles as well. He was also chancellor of Massey University for a period he was a Palmerston North city councillor for a period and he has taken other public roles including now chairing the Electoral Commission.It is apposite in view of the role of this House in endorsing Justice Williams’ continued appointment to the Electoral Commission to reflect on that commission and its importance in our electoral system and therefore to our system of democracy. There is no question that having a system that is trusted and relied upon and that has the confidence of the people is a sine qua non of our democratic system. There must be proper and full oversight of our electoral processes and a commission that is truly independent of the Government and of all politicians whose election conduct comes within its purview and its oversight. So it is important that we have people of good standing and of high standing occupying these important roles. Justice Williams fulfils those criteria.There is another aspect though and I wonder whether at this time when we consider this appointment and when we reflect on it we can think about the role of the Electoral Commission. We do so in light of recent events not because I am particularlyconcerned with any particular individual but I am concerned about a system where when the commission was called upon to investigate and decide whether criminal sanctions were appropriate in an alleged breach of electoral law it was a matter that was referred to the police who exercised their prosecutorial discretion against prosecution. That was then picked up by a private citizen which led to the successful establishment of a prima facie case. That has now led to a trial being set up and the Solicitor-General stepping in and taking over the case.It raises I think the very important question in relation to our electoral law and the boundaries within which we must operate of whether it is appropriate to continue to rely upon the police to act as the prosecutorial agent in those sorts of cases. I think not just recent history but also more distant history tells us that the police resent it and find it very difficult when they are put in the position of having to prosecute in political matters. They often feel used and manipulated. I wonder whether now is a time for us to consider whether the Electoral Commission itself—given the seniority of the people whom we are now appointing to it the standing they have and the independence with which it conducts itself—is more appropriate to conduct investigations into alleged breaches and to exercise that prosecutorial discretion because the police clearly do not find this a task that is very easy to do or one that they are comfortable acquitting themselves with.On this occasion I raise that issue because I think that as we head towards—if it is not already then very soon—world’s best practice when it comes to oversight of our electoral system and the upholding of our democratic traditions and principles we need to make sure that we have the apparatus for ensuring that there is full compliance with our electoral laws but also that any alleged breaches are quickly brought to book through a competent agent a Government State agency that knows what it is doing. The Electoral Commission is that agency and it is the one that should be tasked with the full range of follow-up oversight investigation and if necessary prosecution of alleged breaches in a way that we do not have at the moment. But on that note we support the continued appointment of Justice Williams and wish him and the commission all the best in their endeavours during the remaining term of his appointment.