Guy Nathan: Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Guy Nathan: Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:658;Page:7451] 
Hon NATHAN GUY (Associate Minister of Justice) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Justice 
: I move  
That the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee for consideration. 
The State agencies responsible for the administration of our parliamentary electoral system are a central component of New Zealand’s democracy. Those agencies facilitate both the right of New Zealanders to vote and their opportunity to be elected into this Parliament. They also undertake a challenging operational task. The general election commands a considerable budget and at its height it involves approximately 17000 staff. Therefore our electoral administration must be designed to provide first-class electoral services to New Zealanders and to safeguard the public’s continuing confidence in the administration of our electoral system. 
Three electoral agencies are responsible for our existing system. First the Chief Electoral Officer as part of the Ministry of Justice has responsibility for conducting general elections by-elections and referenda. The officer also administers the electoral finance regime for constituency candidates and supervises compliance with it. Second the current Electoral Commission has a number of functions relating to political parties including registration allocating broadcasting time and funding prior to the election. It supervises parties’ compliance with the electoral finance regime. It also supervises compliance with the electoral broadcasting rules and conducts public education and research on electoral matters. Third the Chief Registrar of Electors acting through the Electoral Enrolment Centre and New Zealand Post Ltd is responsible for the electoral roll and enrolment. 
The three-agency structure although generally effective has created some problems including duplication and increased costs and complexity for people dealing with the three agencies. As a result there has been disjointed decision-making on electoral matters. Fragmentation has also become an obstacle to achieving any strategic overview of the sector’s performance and its priorities and may limit technological development for use in future elections. There has been longstanding support for a better integrated form of electoral administration that includes the findings of the Election Framework Taskforce in 2001 and of the Justice and Electoral Committee which has been recommending better integration since at least the 1999 election. More recently the issue re-emerged during consultation with other political parties on the current review of electoral finance law. 
Therefore the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill establishes an independent electoral agency that will be given overarching responsibility for electoral administration—a new Electoral Commission. This new commission will be an independent Crown entity placed at arm’s length from an executive Government with a statutory responsibility to act independently when performing its statutory duties and functions. The measures in this bill have been the subject of consultation with all of the parliamentary parties which is a longstanding convention for significant electoral reform. The new Electoral Commission will provide improved access to electoral services as well as a more integrated efficient and strategic approach to electoral administration. Reform of the electoral agencies will be in stages. 
The Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill takes the most significant step in the reform exercise by creating the new Electoral Commission that will take on the functions of the current Chief Electoral Officer and the Electoral Commissioner. If the bill is passed by the middle of 2010 the new Electoral Commission will begin operating on 1 October 2010 and will be ready to administer the 2011 general election. The second stage of the reform a transfer of the responsibility for the electoral roll to the new Electoral Commission will be dealt with in a separate bill. Enrolment will continue to be the responsibility of the Chief Registrar of Electors until October 2012. In addition to its status as an independent Crown entity the new Electoral Commission is also assured by a specific statutory duty of acting independently in performing its statutory duties and functions and in exercising its powers. 
The new Electoral Commission will be governed by a three-member board comprising the chairperson the Chief Electoral Officer who will also be the chief executive and one other person. Electoral commissioners will be appointed by the Governor-General for a term of up to 5 years on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice. To enhance the independence of these appointments the bill requires the Minister to consult the leaders of all political parties represented in the House before making the appointment recommendations. This requirement was added following consultation with other political parties over the shape of the proposed bill and the Minister of Justice the Hon Simon Power wishes to thank all parties in the House for engaging on these matters. The new commission will also be subject to the usual Crown entity reporting mechanisms in order to monitor the performance of electoral services and the expenditure of taxpayers’ dollars during the 3-year electoral cycle. The bill also provides certainty and consistency for the staff of the current Electoral Commission and the Chief Electoral Office during the transition to the new arrangements by transferring them directly to the new Electoral Commission on terms and conditions no less favourable than those they currently enjoy. 
This bill is an important step in reforming the way in which our elections are administered. I would like to commend the current electoral agencies for the high calibre of their work to date and for their valuable advice during the development of this bill. Their assistance will be even more valuable during the transition to ensure minimum risk to ongoing electoral administration. It is their professionalism that has already contributed to New Zealand’s reputation as a country with effective independent and impartial electoral management. The Government is confident that this bill will create more efficient and accessible electoral services for New Zealanders as they exercise their democratic rights. I commend this bill to the House.