Chauvel Charles: Electoral Finance Bill — First Reading 
Chauvel Charles: Electoral Finance Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:640;Page:10795] 
CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) 
: 
 I rise to take a call on the first reading of this very good bill the Electoral Finance Bill. What a shame it was to hear and see the contributions from National members in this debate on the radio and in the print media over the last couple of days since this bill was tabled. The reality of this legislation is that no group will get special treatment. The new rules will limit the campaigning done by everyone including unions business groups and religious organisations. 
At this point we have not had State funding introduced. I personally think that is a matter for regret but clearly the group that will be set up to review future directions will be able to consider that matter. 
I would like to deal with some of the worst examples of propaganda and misinformation that we have heard in the House today and in the media since this bill was tabled. First I will address this shibboleth this nonsense that this legislation is an attack on free speech. It is not rocket science to know that where money and politics mix—as they do on the other side of the House—one had better have rules in place to safeguard the system from abuse. 
Members know that political parties have had limits on their spending in this country since 1895. It was not until the last election though that New Zealanders realised that groups could pretend to be independent and then pour millions of dollars into backing a party—and we know which party that was. The very people who are rallying around their hollow cries in the defence of free speech are some of the very people who were at the centre of those abuses at the last election and it is a disgrace to hear them try to defend those practices in the House today. 
Then there is the misinformation being put out that Labour is trying to silence its critics and is putting in self-serving rules ahead of the next election. Well this bill delivers a level playing field. All parties will be treated fairly and all third-party groups like unions business groups and religious organisations will be covered by the same rules. That is an excellent advance and it is beyond time that we should see it. Again the people who gained most from the abuses in the 2005 election are trying to spread misinformation and propaganda in order to block what they know are fair-minded reforms that will prevent these rorts in the future. One just needs to follow the money to realise what is going on here in this debate. 
Then there is this misinformation that claims Labour is giving special treatment to the unions. Of course we are not; unions will have to abide by the same rules as everyone else. People who claim that unions are being treated differently are not being truthful. Corporates will be able to communicate directly with their shareholders employers and manufacturers associations and unions will be able to communicate directly with their memberships and Churches can provide information to their congregations. None of this means that they are able to put ads in the paper without playing by the rules that everyone else has to play by. 
Then there is the propaganda being put out that National will lose the most out of this situation. This bill will not disadvantage National; it will simply take away the disadvantages faced by all other parties that did not have access to the secret third-party ad campaigns that helped National at the last election. This is especially true for the smaller parties which would never have been able to compete with the millionaire financing that National had access to. 
I would just say that one of the notable aspects of this first reading debate has been the contributions made by the third parties. I enjoyed listening to the speeches made by the leaders and representatives of those parties and I think their contributions bode very well for our making this an even better bill in the select committee. 
Then there is the misinformation that claims Labour is still trying to get State funding through at the next election. As I said this bill will not provide for State funding. It is true that the independent review foreshadowed by the Minister of Justice will look at State funding amongst other things such as stronger watchdogs donations and thresholds and that it will report back after the election. But the review will not have anything to do with what Labour prefers one way or another. 
It is true that in many other countries State funding has been shown to be the best way to keep abuse out of the system and to avoid a plutocracy where one well-funded party can simply get its way and try to snow the public. Personally I am a supporter of State funding and I think it is important that independent people look at what it might mean for New Zealand which is what successive reviews of general elections by the Justice and Electoral Committee have called for. 
In conclusion I say that I welcome the independent review that the Minister has foreshadowed. Clearly it will be good to have a three-member panel—with one member to act as the chairperson—to publish a discussion document invite submissions consult with political parties and provide a final report to the Minister of Justice with recommendations for consideration by Cabinet. It is good to see that the review will cover issues as broad as the structure of the electoral agencies State funding and the wider question of political party funding including the sources of donations and relevant thresholds. 
I think this bill is a good start. As has been signalled hopefully the House will be generous-spirited and will grant leave for the select committee to contain a decent representation from across the parties in the House. I think that mechanism will be able to improve the bill even further. I hope the public are not snowed by the propaganda and the misinformation that I have mentioned in my speech and I hope there is full participation in the deliberations of the select committee which I greatly look forward to.