Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:633;Page:4770] 
5.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: Does he agree with the statements of the Chief Electoral Officer that the Labour pledge card and the A2-size pamphlet headed “Working together” “clearly encourages … voters to vote for the Labour Party” and that “the expenses of these publications should be included in your [Labour’s] return of election expenses.”; if not why not? 
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 Madam Speaker it would be inappropriate for me to comment on what are legal interpretations of the Chief Electoral Officer made in the course of his duties under the Electoral Act 1993. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. In this part of the Chamber we heard nothing beyond “Madam Speaker” in the Minister’s reply. I wonder whether he could repeat the answer and whether it could be heard in silence. 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: It would be inappropriate for me to comment on what are legal interpretations of the Chief Electoral Officer made in the course of his duties under the Electoral Act 1993. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Has the Minister seen the letter from the Chief Electoral Officer sent on 2 September last year 2 weeks before the election to the Labour Party that clearly states that Labour’s pledge card should and must be included as an election expense and what action would he expect an honest political party to take having received such a detailed warning from the Chief Electoral Officer if it wanted to avoid acting corruptly? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: I am aware of the letter the member refers to but it was not addressed to me. I have no ministerial responsibility for the correspondence in question. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Minister failed to address the question about what he would expect an honest political party to do that wanted to avoid acting corruptly having received that advice. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: The Minister is not responsible for what a party would do. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Has the Minister seen the advice of the Chief Electoral Officer sent on 12 September—before the election—that this fold-out brochure with a picture of a woman who purports to be the Prime Minister should be included in the Labour Party’s election expenses and what action would this Minister think an honest political party would take having received its second warning that this taxpayer-funded material should be declared an election expense to avoid acting corruptly? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I just note that the Minister is not responsible for the party but if he wishes to address the question for matters he is responsible for then that is fine. 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: Indeed I am not the person who is responsible for the administration of the Labour Party. However I repeat to the member that it would be inappropriate for me to comment on what are legal interpretations of the Chief Electoral Officer made in the course of his duties under the Electoral Act 1993. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Can the Minister confirm that the Electoral Commission told the police that the Labour Party had spent more than it was legally permitted to and that this was referred to the police despite repeated warnings to the Labour Party from the Chief Electoral Officer and can the Minister confirm that under electoral law this is indeed a corrupt practice? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any legal interpretation of the Chief Electoral Officer in pursuit of his duties under the Electoral Act. I do not have ministerial responsibility for the police’s response. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Was the Minister advised by the Chief Electoral Office that 3 days before the election the Labour Party had offered to include the cost of this pledge card which includes the Minister’s picture in its election return but in the days after the election when the Chief Electoral Officer could not make a statement that would affect the election the Labour Party advised that it would not be including the cost of the pledge card in its election spending and can the Minister confirm that when a party breaks the law in that way it is indeed a very corrupt practice? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: No I was not so advised but I would not expect to be because it is not within the realm of my ministerial responsibility. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Is the Ministry of Justice undertaking or has it undertaken any work on resolving the issues foreshadowed in the Auditor-General’s draft report on advertising from parliamentary funds; if so what is that work? 
Hon MARK BURTON 
: The ministry is undertaking a wide range of work around future electoral arrangements and I will be engaging on that work with members of the select committee.