Benson-Pope David: Electoral Amendment Bill Broadcasting Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
Benson-Pope David: Electoral Amendment Bill Broadcasting Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Readings 
[Volume:622;Page:17332] 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Associate Minister of Justice) 
 on behalf of the  
Hon Rick Barker (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: I am pleased to move  
That the Electoral Amendment Bill and the Broadcasting Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a third time 
. 
The Electoral Amendment Bill does three things. It amends section 55 of the Electoral Act to ensure that a New Zealand member of Parliament must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to New Zealand and to the people he or she represents. In particular section 55 will clearly set out that a member of the New Zealand Parliament must be a New Zealand citizen at all times and the circumstances when an MP must vacate his or her seat. Secondly the Electoral Amendment Bill cures an anomaly in section 55E of the Electoral Act that could see the Governor-General or a senior judge take a role in the party-hopping procedure. Thirdly the Electoral Amendment Bill implements a regime to manage certain aspects of electoral signs. 
The practice within local government is for election signs to be governed by a local authority’s district plan and bylaws. That approach has resulted in differing requirements between individual local authorities and it is difficult for political parties to conduct coordinated campaigns on a national level for the party vote under MMP. In accordance with the unanimous select committee proposal the bill amends the Electoral Act to specify national standards to manage certain aspects of electoral signs. The maximum size of electoral signs is 3 square metres. Electoral signs that meet the specifications may be displayed for a period of up to 2 months before polling date. In addition regulations may be passed to standardise the design of electoral signs and procedures to be followed by any person before displaying an electoral sign. Extensive consultation will be held with interested and affected parties before any regulations are finalised. 
The Electoral Act is the cornerstone of New Zealand’s democracy. The Electoral Amendment Bill includes extensive safeguards to ensure the integrity of those sections of the Electoral Act are maintained. Safeguards include obtaining the consent of at least half the leaders of parties represented in Parliament whose members make up at least 75 percent of the House before regulations can be passed. Discussions with the representatives of local government suggest that local authorities want to continue to have the ability to control location and density of electoral signs fees payable and actions in relation to non-complying electoral signs. I agree. Local authorities are in the best position to take into account local conditions and manage these matters. 
I wish to thank the Society of Local Government Managers and Local Government New Zealand for their efforts and assistance in developing the regime to manage electoral signs. I also wish to acknowledge the cooperation of other parties during the Committee of the whole House in agreeing to include the provisions to manage electoral signs. 
The Broadcasting Amendment Bill (No 2) makes a number of procedural and technical amendments to the electoral broadcasting regime to allow the Electoral Commission to allocate funds for electoral broadcasting for the next general election more effectively. It does this by removing some of the well-recognised anomalies and administratively burdensome processes of the current broadcasting regime. These amendments have been recommended following inquiries into the 1996 1999 and 2002 general elections. 
The major changes to the electoral broadcasting regime proposed in the Broadcasting Amendment Bill (No 2) are that the bill will repeal the outdated requirement for the Electoral Commission to invite broadcasters to provide free or discounted time for electoral broadcasting and secondly the bill amends the provisions of the Broadcasting Act so that only registered parties will be eligible for allocations of time and money. 
In conclusion the main objectives of the Electoral Amendment Bill are twofold. This bill amends the Electoral Act to clarify when a member of Parliament must vacate his or her seat to ensure that MPs demonstrate an ongoing commitment to this country. The bill will also assist political parties to plan nationwide campaigns for the party vote during general elections. The Broadcasting Amendment Bill (No 2) makes procedural and technical amendments to the electoral broadcasting regime to enable the Electoral Commission to allocate funds for electoral broadcasting for the next general election more effectively. I commend these bills to the House.