Broadcasting (Election Programmes and Election Advertising) Amendment Act 2017

1: Title
This Act is the Broadcasting (Election Programmes and Election Advertising) Amendment Act 2017.
2: Commencement
This Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.
1: Amendments to Broadcasting Act 1989
3: Principal Act
This Part amends the Broadcasting Act 1989 principal Act 2017-03-21 Broadcasting Act 1989
4: Part 6 replaced
Replace Part 6
6: Electoral broadcasting
69: Interpretation
1: In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,— broadcaster
a: a television broadcaster:
b: a radio broadcaster broadcasting costs
a: means the costs incurred in broadcasting the election programme; but
b: does not include any production costs incurred in respect of that programme candidate election programme section 70(3) constituency candidate election
a: a general election:
b: a by-election election period
a: beginning with writ day; and
b: ending with the close of the day preceding polling day election programme
a: encourages or persuades, or appears to encourage or persuade, voters to vote for a party or the election of a constituency candidate; or
b: encourages or persuades, or appears to encourage or persuade, voters not to vote for a party or the election of a constituency candidate; or
c: advocates support for a constituency candidate or for a party; or
d: opposes a constituency candidate or a political party; or
e: notifies meetings held or to be held in connection with an election party party election programme production costs programme publishing costs
a: means the costs incurred in publishing an election advertisement; but
b: does not include any production costs incurred in respect of that advertisement Register of Political Parties
2: In this Part, the following terms have the meanings given to them by section 3(1) of the Electoral Act 1993:
a: by-election
b: candidate advertisement
c: election advertisement
d: Electoral Commission
e: general election
f: polling day
g: writ day 1989 No 25 s 69 Provisions applying to broadcasters
70: Broadcasting election programmes
1: Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3)
2: A broadcaster may, for the purpose of a general election, broadcast an election programme if—
a: the programme is promoted by a party or group of related parties; and
b: the programme is broadcast during the election period; and
c: the broadcasting costs are paid from money allocated to the party or group of related parties under section 79
3: A broadcaster may, for the purposes of a general election or by-election, broadcast an election programme if that programme—
a: is promoted by—
i: a constituency candidate; or
ii: a party with the authority of a constituency candidate; and
b: relates solely to the constituency candidate at the election; and
c: encourages or persuades, or appears to encourage or persuade, voters to vote for that candidate; and
d: is broadcast during the election period for the election; and
e: is broadcast for a fee that may, but need not, be paid from money allocated to a party or group of related parties under section 79
4: Nothing in this section restricts—
a: the broadcasting, in relation to an election, of news or comments or current affairs programmes; or
b: the broadcasting of any non-partisan advertisement, as a community service, by a broadcaster. 1989 No 25 s 70
71: Hours during which broadcast of election programmes prohibited
1: A television broadcaster may not broadcast election programmes—
a: during the hours between 6 am and noon on—
i: Sunday; or
ii: Anzac Day; or
b: on—
i: Christmas Day; or
ii: Good Friday; or
iii: Easter Sunday.
2: A radio broadcaster may not broadcast election programmes on—
a: Christmas Day; or
b: Good Friday; or
c: Easter Sunday. 1989 No 25 s 79A
72: Obligation to give identical terms to each party or constituency candidate
1: A broadcaster may not offer or give to any party terms for broadcasting time that are more favourable than those offered or given to any other party that buys, or expresses an interest in buying, comparable time from that broadcaster.
2: A broadcaster may not offer or give to any constituency candidate terms for broadcasting time that are more favourable than those offered or given to any other constituency candidate who buys, or expresses an interest in buying, comparable time from that broadcaster. 1989 No 25 s 79B
73: Programme standards in relation to election programmes
Section 4(1)﻿(d) does not apply in relation to an election programme broadcast under this Part. 1989 No 25 s 79 Funding for election programmes and election advertisements in relation to general election
74: Public money to be appropriated for funding election programmes and election advertising in relation to general election
1: In relation to each general election, the Minister of Justice must give notice to the Electoral Commission of the amount of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose of enabling parties to fund—
a: all of the broadcasting costs incurred in relation to the broadcast of party election programmes; and
b: all or part of the broadcasting costs incurred in relation to the broadcast of candidate election programmes; and
c: all or part of the production costs, whenever incurred, in relation to—
i: party election programmes; and
ii: candidate election programmes; and
d: all or part of the publishing costs incurred in relation to the publication of election advertisements on the Internet during the election period; and
e: all or part of production costs, whenever incurred, in relation to election advertisements published on the Internet—
i: during the election period; or
ii: before and during the election period.
2: The Electoral Commission must decide, under section 79 subsection (1)
3: For a general election that takes place after 2017 (a subsequent general election section 79 subsection (1)
4: An amount of money deemed by subsection (3) 1989 No 25 ss 74, 74A(1)
75: Electoral Commission to set date for parties to notify qualification for allocation
1: In every year in which Parliament is due to expire, the Electoral Commission must specify, by notice in the Gazette section 74
2: The date specified under subsection (1) 1989 No 25 s 70A(1), (2)
76: Parties to give notice of qualification
1: A party that considers it will be qualified under section 78(1)﻿(b) section 74
2: A notice must—
a: be in writing; and
b: be provided to the Electoral Commission no later than the date specified under section 75(1)
3: A notice must include—
a: the full name of the party; and
b: the contact details of the person providing the notice and the capacity in which he or she provides the notice; and
c: the contact details of the secretary of the party, if the secretary is not providing the notice; and
d: a statement that—
i: the party is registered on the Register of Political Parties; or
ii: the party has applied for registration on the Register of Political Parties; or
iii: the party intends to apply for registration on the Register of Political Parties so as to be registered on that register at the date of dissolution or expiry of Parliament; and
e: details of any relationships that may exist between the party and any other party in New Zealand that the Electoral Commission may need to take into account in allocating money to political parties; and
f: whether the party intends to submit a list under section 127 of the Electoral Act 1993 for the general election to be held in that year. 1989 No 25 ss 70A(3), 70B, 70C
77: Consultation with parties
1: Before making any allocation of the money referred to in section 74 section 76
a: meet with the Electoral Commission; and
b: be heard by the Electoral Commission.
2: The failure of a party to make use of an opportunity afforded under subsection (1)
a: prevent the Electoral Commission from making an allocation of money; or
b: affect the validity of any allocation of money made, or not made, to a party. 1989 No 25 s 76
78: Criteria for allocating money to party
1: A party may only receive an allocation of the money referred to in section 74
a: has provided to the Electoral Commission a notice in accordance with section 76
b: was registered on the Register of Political Parties at the time of the dissolution or expiry of Parliament.
2: In allocating money to a party, the Electoral Commission must have regard to—
a: the number of persons who voted at the immediately preceding general election for that party and for candidates belonging to that party; and
b: the number of persons who voted at any by-election held since the immediately preceding general election for any candidate belonging to that party; and
c: the number of members of Parliament who were members of that party immediately before the dissolution or expiration of Parliament; and
d: any relationships that exist between a party and any other party; and
e: any other indications of public support for that party, such as the results of public opinion polls and the number of persons who are members of that party; and
f: the need to provide a fair opportunity for each party to which subsection (1) 1989 No 25 s 75(1), (2)
79: Allocation decision
1: The Electoral Commission’s decision on how the money referred to in section 74
a: must set out the allocations (which must be in any proportions that the Electoral Commission thinks fit); and
b: may include conditions as to the manner in which a party is to spend its allocation.
2: An allocation may be made to a group of related parties.
3: An allocation may not be made to an individual party if that party is to receive an allocation as part of a group of related parties.
4: A condition included in a decision under subsection (1)﻿(b)
5: If the Electoral Commission decides to allocate money to a party, the Electoral Commission must give a copy of its decision to—
a: the party secretary; and
b: the Secretary for Justice.
6: A decision under this section may be made—
a: before the beginning of the relevant election period; or
b: during the relevant election period. 1989 No 25 ss 74A(2)–(5), 75(3)
80: Electoral Commission may vary allocation
1: The Electoral Commission may vary a decision made under section 79
a: does not accept that allocation; or
b: ceases to be registered; or
c: fails to submit a list of candidates for election under section 127 of the Electoral Act 1993; or
d: fails to comply with any conditions imposed by the Electoral Commission under section 79(1)﻿(b)
2: The Electoral Commission may also vary a decision made under section 79
3: The Electoral Commission may vary a decision made under section 79
a: meet with the Electoral Commission; or
b: comment on the proposed variation.
4: In varying a decision made under section 79
a: the views of parties received in the course of consultations undertaken in accordance with section 77
b: the matters specified in sections 78 and 79(3)
5: If an allocation of money made to a party has been spent (in whole or in part), the Electoral Commission must not vary that allocation unless—
a: the registration of the party is cancelled under section 70 of the Electoral Act 1993; or
b: the party secretary has failed to submit a list of candidates for election under section 127 of the Electoral Act 1993. 1989 No 25 s 76A
80A: How allocation may be used
1: A party or group of related parties that receives an allocation under section 79(1)﻿(a)
a: may only use that money for the purposes specified in section 74(1)
b: must comply with any conditions imposed under section 79(1)﻿(b)
2: Nothing in this Part restricts the amount of money that a party or group of related parties may spend, subject to the expenditure limitations prescribed by or under the Electoral Act 1993, on—
a: broadcasting costs in relation to candidate election programmes; or
b: publication costs in relation to election advertisements; or
c: production costs in relation to—
i: party election programmes; or
ii: candidate election programmes; or
iii: election advertisements. 1989 No 25 ss 70(2A), 74B(1)
80B: Payment of allocation
1: A party to which an amount of money is allocated under section 79
a: all accounts issued to the party in respect of the expenditure by that party of its allocation; and
b: any information in relation to those accounts that the Electoral Commission requires.
2: No account that the Electoral Commission receives from a party after the end of the period specified in subsection (1) section 79
3: When the Electoral Commission is satisfied that any account or a part of any account should be paid, the Electoral Commission must, from the money it received under section 74(1)
4: An amount of money that has been allocated to a party under section 79 subsection (3) 1989 No 25 s 74B(2)–(5)
80C: Apportionment of publishing costs incurred in relation to election advertisements published both before and during election period
1: This section applies if an election advertisement is published for a party or a candidate on the Internet both before the commencement of the election period and during the election period.
2: If this section applies, only the publishing costs attributable to the publication of the election advertisement during the election period are payable from money allocated under section 79
80D: Cost funded from party allocation not party election expense
1: Any cost specified in section 74(1) section 79
2: However, any cost specified in section 74(1) section 79
a: to the extent that programme or advertisement is a candidate election programme or candidate advertisement, a candidate donation that must be included by the candidate in his or her return of donations under section 209 of the Electoral Act 1993; and
b: to the extent that programme or advertisement is a candidate advertisement, an election expense of a candidate that must be included by the candidate in his or her return of election expenses under section 205K of the Electoral Act 1993.
80E: Return of party’s allocation expenses
A party secretary must file with the Electoral Commission under section 206IA
80F: Recovery of money from party
1: Where effect has been given in whole or in part to an allocation made under section 79 section 80
2: Where the Electoral Commission makes a determination under subsection (1)
a: the Electoral Commission must give a copy of that determination to both the party secretary and the Secretary for Justice; and
b: the Secretary for Justice may recover from the party as a debt due to the Crown the amount specified in the determination as being repayable to the Crown by the party. 1989 No 25 s 76B
80G: Procedure in relation to early elections
1: This section applies if, at the time Parliament is dissolved or expires,—
a: the Electoral Commission has not specified a date under section 75
b: the Electoral Commission has specified such a date, but that date has not yet passed.
2: If this section applies, this Part applies subject to the modifications specified in section 80H 1989 No 25 s 76C
80H: Modification to application of this Part if section 80G applies
If section 80G
a: section 75(1) In every year in which Parliament is due to expire At the earliest available opportunity
b: section 76(3) paragraph (d) a statement that the party was registered on the Register of Political Parties at the time of the dissolution or expiry of Parliament (as the case may be); and
c: the Electoral Commission may set, for the consultation required under section 77 1989 No 25 s 76D Offences
80I: Offences relating to broadcasting
A person commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 if the person—
a: fails to comply with—
i: section 70
ii: section 71
iii: section 72
b: in an election period, arranges for the broadcasting of an election programme for or on behalf of a political party that is contrary to section 70 1989 No 25 s 80
80J: Duty to report suspected offences
If the Electoral Commission believes that any person has committed an offence against section 80I 1989 No 25 s 80A
2: Consequential amendments to Electoral Act 1993
5: Principal Act
This Part amends the Electoral Act 1993 principal Act 2017-03-21 Electoral Act 1993
6: Section 5 amended (Functions)
In section 5(b) parliamentary election programmes electoral broadcasting
7: Section 206 amended (Interpretation)
In section 206(1) election expenses
c: excludes the costs referred to in section 74(1) section 79