Whaitiri MekaHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Minister of Customs) on behalf of the Minister of Local Government: I present a legislative statement on the Local Electoral (Advertising) Amendment Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon MEKA WHAITIRI: I move That the Local Electoral (Advertising) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 22 June 2022 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions; during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House; and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 193 195 and 196. This year we have the local government elections. These are the primary opportunity for communities to determine who will represent them and make key decisions about their local community. I believe a test of a healthy democracy is its ability to effectively represent the diversity of views of its people. The Local Electoral (Advertising) Amendment Bill provides a small yet important change to help secure the safety of all candidates by enabling alternative contact methods to be used on local electoral advertising. This bill provides that instead of providing a physical address candidates may choose between providing a physical address an email address a phone number a post office box number or a link to an internet site that contains one of those ways of contacting a candidate.This is a small bill of just four clauses. It adjusts the address requirements of authorisation statements for local election advertisements. It responds to concerns about safety risks that I've heard from women and candidates of visible ethnic minorities. This bill balances the need for accountability and transparency in local elections. It is important that the person behind election advertisements can be identified. The authorisation statements will remain but with more choice about how and where the candidate or promoter can be contacted. This means that if an advertisement doesn't comply with the rules for campaign advertising enforcement officers can contact the publisher to resolve any issues. As with the status quo if there are fake details or if the authoriser does not respond in time enforcement officers can still take the material down. I welcome further feedback from the select committee process about whether we have struck the right balance here.Here's how the process works at the moment in local elections: when everyone publishes an advertisement promoting a candidate in any newspaper periodical notice poster pamphlet handbill billboard or radio or television broadcast they must include an authorisation statement. That statement must include the true name of the person causing the advertisement to be published—usually the candidate—and the place of his or her residence or place of business. In this House we are all familiar with billboards and how promoter statements work for parliamentary elections. We all have party structures behind us which gives us the option of using the address of a party office or our own electoral office on election material. We can ensure that our home addresses aren't shown on billboards or flyers or listed in a newspaper. Some local electoral candidates don't have that same choice. The time has come to acknowledge the harm that the existing law has the potential to cause. Local democracy thrives when a broad range of individuals who bring different perspectives and experiences stand for public office in a contest of ideas. Women are under-represented in local government with only 40 percent of councillor positions filled by women and only 30 percent of mayors. Ethnic diversity is also an area of weakness in our local democratic system. Amending the requirement for candidates to disclose personal addresses will create a safer electoral environment for candidates including women gender-diverse people and visible ethnic minority groups standing for local government. Many people who stand in local elections are entering the political affray for the very first time. This should be encouraged as a wider range of candidates provides more choice for voters. For candidates this experience should be challenging and demanding but it should not be unsafe. It should not expose them their families or their flatmates to personal risk. The chief executive of Local Government New Zealand Susan Freeman-Greene wrote a column just over a month ago in which she noted that and I quote People stand for local government because they want to serve their communities. Insidious scary harassment isn't part of that job description." She also described far too many examples in recent memory of elected members who have experienced harm. For the preservation of our democracy we owe it to the electoral candidates to feel safe. To her and to all elected members and candidates who have experienced abuse: I hear you.The Prime Minister recently reflected on the fragility of democracy and the collective responsibility those in it have to debate with the passion and fire that conviction brings but without the vitriol hate and violence. Her summary was that "This imperfect but precious way that we organise ourselves that has been created to give equal voice to the weak and to the strong that is designed to help drive consensus—it is fragile." We can take a step today to protect our democratic processes. We can take a step to ensure that dialogue and debate are cherished not open to threats harassment and the invasion of privacy. We can take a step to strengthen the voices of those who haven't been heard in forums they haven't been welcomed into. This Government has signalled that we will be guided by our virtues and by our commitment to the wellbeing of people that we look beyond GDP to find our measures of success. Part of this focus on wellbeing on creating a fairer New Zealand is that we will continue to strengthen social inclusion in Aotearoa New Zealand. This means supporting our diversity and creating a New Zealand where all people feel safe have equal access to opportunities and do not experience discrimination. Despite the short time frames my officials have worked closely with electoral offices Local Government New Zealand and Taituarā on ensuring that the bill continues to provide for transparency and accountability. This is a balance that is incredibly important and I commend these groups for their time and expertise. I am confident that the bill strikes a good balance between campaigning transparency and providing a safe environment for candidates. Nominations for local election candidates open on 15 June 2022. To be able to take effect before the intensive campaign phase of this year's local election the amendment bill needs to be enacted under urgency with a two-week-long select committee. I acknowledge that the swift pace of these reforms may be disappointing for some; however this Government knows that this change is the right thing to do and these amendments will move through this Parliament very quickly. This bill must pass as soon as possible to provide options and certainty to candidates before election material is printed. Even though this is a small bill we have an opportunity now to support diverse candidates and ensure that no one is needlessly subject to harm or discouraged from standing. I commend this bill to the House. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to."