English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:646;Page:15791] 
5.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Leader—National) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: Does she stand by the statement to the House given on her behalf “Matters that are properly authorised as being for parliamentary purposes do not count as election advertising for the returns of expenses.”; if so why? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister for the Environment) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Justice 
: As the member is aware the Electoral Commission is currently doing some work to provide guidance to parties on the interpretation of the words “member of Parliament in his or her capacity as a member of Parliament.” The Minister has already said in relation to the particular matter that the statement referred to that the secretary of the Labour Party has decided that material that was published last year if attributable “will be apportioned against Labour Party expenses.” 
Hon Bill English 
: Is the Minister aware that the Electoral Commission is doing more than some work on it; it has actually said that the Minister of Justice is wrong and in her statement yesterday she directly contradicted that position by saying that whether an MP’s newsletter counted as an election advertisement would depend on what the member puts in that newsletter; and how can MPs have any confidence in a Minister who appears to have no idea what the rules are and what is going on? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I am very reluctant to get involved in rulings and I am sure the Minister of Justice would not but when one calls for a change of Government in a newsletter it could well end up being attributable. 
Hon Bill English 
: Does she realise that if it is possible for an MP’s newsletter to be an election advertisement because of its content then it is also possible for an MP’s press release to be an election advertisement because of its content and is it the Government’s intention in putting forward this legislation that MPs’ press releases may have to be authorised by the financial agents of political parties because they constitute an election advertisement? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I think that is taking it to ridiculous extremes. 
Hon Bill English 
: Does the Minister accept that if a press release such as a newsletter can be judged an election advertisement—and the Electoral Commission has already stated that one MP’s newsletter is an election advertisement—then can she confirm that any Government department or Crown entity that publishes press releases that constitute election advertisements on their websites are guilty of an illegal act under section 67 of the Electoral Finance Act? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: In a word no. Read the Act Bill. 
Hon Bill English 
: Well actually I have and the Minister has not—that is the problem. He was too busy songwriting. Can the Minister tell us why it would constitute an election advertisement to put highly political statements into an MP’s newsletter but if the same sorts of statements are in for instance a Minister’s media statement published on a district health board website then that would not also be an election advertisement—for instance the statement where Pete Hodgson stated: “From the gutted health system we inherited from National Labour has invested $2.2 billion in primary healthcare” which is on the Waikato District Health Board website? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I think the member cannot tell the difference between a statement of fact and electioneering. 
Hon Bill English 
: When will the Minister explain why statements that are made in an MP’s newsletter have already been determined by the Electoral Commission to be election advertisements but the Minister maintains the ridiculous position that the statement made in an MP’s press release will somehow be exempt from the law? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I am not differentiating between whether that sort of release is done by email whether or not it is printed and who leaked it. 
Hon Bill English 
: Will the Minister instruct Government departments to ensure that they cannot be seen to be breaking the law when they publish highly political Labour-led Government press statements on their websites such as this statement on the Ministry of Economic Development website: “The Labour-led government is taking its economic transformation agenda to a new level” which is presumably a comment on the closure of Fisher and Paykel? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I would not presume to do the work of the Auditor-General who has responsibility in this area or the work of the State Services Commissioner who also works in this area. Frankly I think the public are getting a bit sick of the sooky baby approach taken by that member.