Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:660;Page:8956] 
6. 
METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: Why is he proposing election campaign spending caps for political parties? 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 Spending caps have been in place for political parties since the Electoral Act 1993. However the limits for parties and candidates have not changed since 1995. In response to the review of electoral finance laws there was broad agreement that these limits should be adjusted by a CPI rate. As a result this is one of the Government’s proposals for reform. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Minister agree with the Royal Commission on the Electoral System when it stated: “It is illogical to limit spending by parties if other interests are not also controlled. … Nor should powerful or wealthy interest groups be able to spend without restriction during an election campaign while [the parties] are restricted.”? 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: I understand the point but submissions on the electoral finance proposals as I said to the member yesterday were sharply divided between those who proposed that parallel campaigners be tightly regulated including a spending cap and those who wanted minimal regulation. In the absence of consensus the Government is proposing that those who spend over $12000 should register to provide more transparency than exists under the current law without unduly limiting freedom of speech. The member may be interested to know that this was the suggestion of both the Human Rights Commission and the Employers and Manufacturers Association which suggests we might have the balance—initially—about right. My overriding concern has been to ensure that in the initial stages the electoral finance reforms have broad-based support heading into that select committee so that they can endure. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Minister agree with the royal commission when it went on to state that it is not fair if some in the community use their relative wealth to exercise disproportionate influence in determining who is to govern and what policies are to be pursued? 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: Again I understand the point but the requirement to register as currently proposed would make it clear who was behind any parallel campaign. I think the public and the media are smart enough to join the dots. In addition a parallel campaign would be restricted by the fact that under the proposals as they exist today the parallel campaigner could still not advertise on television or radio. I note in respect of the member’s suggestions around big groups—I think she used the phrase “big campaigners” “big business” or something similar—that the 25 groups and individuals who registered as parallel campaigners in 2008 were far more diverse than that and included 11 unions the national students’ association and a group called “Vote for the Environment”. 
Metiria Turei 
: How will his proposals prevent a political party from giving money to a third party so it can run an uncapped political campaign? 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: As I said I am confident that the registration proposal which is currently part of the Government’s package will bring increased transparency over and above those requirements that currently exist in the Electoral Act 1993 with the donations portion of the Electoral Finance Act 2007 clipped on. As the member is aware and as I said to all political parties yesterday in briefings on the matters of parallel campaigning donations and broadcasting I remain very interested in what the select committee comes up with. If a broad consensus can emerge from that particular forum which was not able to emerge on those issues from three or maybe four stages of consultation leading to this point I would be very interested in hearing about it. 
Metiria Turei 
: Can the Minister then confirm that there is nothing in the proposals thus far that will prevent a political party from giving money to a third party to run a supportive and uncapped election campaign? 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: On the contrary I think the suggestion that has been made which is actually tighter than the regime that existed prior to the 2008 legislation will in fact enhance transparency in the area that the member is concerned about. 
Metiria Turei 
: What in his proposal is there to require a third party to disclose campaign donations from a political party? 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: Off the top of my head nothing. But again the select committee could well provide an opportunity for a broader consensus to develop on that point. As I said to the member yesterday one cannot draft a piece of legislation that has options and operational clauses. We have to put down a proposal to send to a select committee to hope that the debate will produce the consensus that may be lacking on these one or two remaining issues. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Minister not agree that the absence of a spending cap for third parties means that Governments can very well be beholden to the wealthy interests that pay for the parallel campaigns and not to the voters who are an essential part of this democracy? 
Hon SIMON POWER 
: No I do not share that view.