Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:644;Page:14013] 
1. JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she still stand by her statement when asked how she expects well-intentioned honest ordinary New Zealanders to understand the Electoral Finance Bill that “One expects people to read it carefully and to consult lawyers”? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes if they expect to spend big money like the member does on electioneering. 
John Key 
: Does the Prime Minister accept that what constitutes an electoral advertisement is so unclear and so highly debatable that groups opposed to Government policies are going to be told by their lawyers to shut up completely over the whole of the election year; and is that not exactly what the Government wanted all the way along to silence its critics? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: No; and no. 
John Key 
: Why is it her Government’s policy that for someone like Tim Shadbolt to spend $300000 in January next year using the slogan “Bring down the Government” will constitute a corrupt practice in the law for which Mr Shadbolt could lose his mayoralty be sent to prison for up to 2 years and be fined up to $100000? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I am sure that when Mayor Tim is more fully acquainted with the facts there will be no such need. 
John Key 
: Why will Tim Shadbolt not be subject to the law this Government is going to pass this afternoon which quite clearly says that if someone as a third party spends over $120000 in the electoral period using the slogan “Bring down the Government”—which the Electoral Commission has already indicated would mean the Labour Government—that person would be in breach of the law; and maybe the person who does not understand the law is not Tim Shadbolt but is actually the Prime Minister? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I would hope that the Leader of the Opposition would be advising people to follow the law not dodge it as he did with regard to the Exclusive Brethren. 
John Key 
: Well is that not exactly the point: if Mr Shadbolt follows the law he can spend $120000 and if he spends more than $120000 he will be subject to a fine of $40000 will potentially go to jail for 2 years and will lose his mayoralty; and is that because the Government cannot hack criticism any more? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The National Party managed to exceed the allowable limit last time and as far as I can see the Leader of the Opposition is not in jail. 
John Key 
: If the Prime Minister wants New Zealanders to have freedom of speech and if she is happy for people like Tim Shadbolt to run their cases in the court of public opinion why is she going to have legislation passed this afternoon that will limit Tim Shadbolt’s campaign to $120000 or less—and she should not shake her head because she knows that that is the truth? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: What I know about the truth is that Tim Shadbolt can run as many issues as he likes. 
Metiria Turei 
: Does the Prime Minister agree that any concerns held by the community about campaign finance law reform are best resolved by a wide-ranging open and primarily democratic process of review? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As the member knows it is the Government’s intention supported by the Greens and New Zealand First I understand and by United Future to have a review of campaign funding. 
John Key 
: Where has this country got to when a blind vendetta led by her Government sees somebody like Tim Shadbolt a man standing up for his community potentially being packed off to jail; and is that the reason this Government is increasingly becoming so unpopular that even its own supporters do not like it any more? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: If the Leader of the Opposition wants to give the Mayor of Invercargill some advice he should please tell him that he can spend as much as he likes on issues advertising. 
John Key 
: Can the Prime Minister explain then why Mr Shadbolt will not be in breach of the law if next year he spends in excess of $120000 on a campaign where his advertisements are headed with the slogan “Bring down the Government”? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: If Mayor Tim sticks to the issues he will be within the law. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Madam Speaker— 
Hon Member 
: Pay it back. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: You can pay the GST back now. 
Hon Member 
: I did. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: No you did not and the Inland Revenue Department should be prosecuting you. The Inland Revenue Department should be prosecuting you because you have not paid it. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Would the member please be seated; I am on my feet. This cross-chat across the Chamber leads to disorder. Would the member please just ask his supplementary question. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I am very happy to— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Do you support Tim Shadbolt? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I have just said that that sort of behaviour leads to disorder. I will be asking members to leave the House if it happens again. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Which division of law covers the issue of free speech: the electoral law or the censorship copyright and defamation laws of this country; which of the two divisions are we talking about when we talk about free speech in New Zealand? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: What the electoral law talks about is paid speech. The National Party with its secret donors and trusts wants to be able to spend whatever it likes in order to buy an election as Mr Key tried to do last time with the Exclusive Brethren.