NZ First next to breach Electoral Finance Act

NEW ZEALAND HERALD: New Zealand First will co-operate fully with a police investigation into whether a banner on a private property breached the Electoral Finance Act, leader Winston Peters says.

NZ First is the first party to be reported to the police for allegedly breaching the Electoral Finance Act (EFA) after the Electoral Commission yesterday said the erection of the banner warranted investigation.

National's deputy leader Bill English complained about the banner, which was put up on a Tauranga property and did not include the authorisation of the party's financial agent - as all material deemed election advertising must under the EFA.

The commission's decision said NZ First's financial agent did not respond to its request for comment on the complaint.

Mr Peters today said the apparent breach was the result of an "over-enthusiastic supporter" unaware of the EFA despite the party sending out information on its provisions.

The banner was one that had been used in previous elections.

"We will help the police with their investigation into this incident and provide any information they seek."

However, he said he was still trying to establish all the facts and he was not yet sure a definite breach had taken place.

Mr Peters said the delay in responding to the commission may have been because the party was still trying to gather all the facts.

"However, the law is to be abided and if there has been a breach of the law we will do our utmost to ensure it doesn't happen again and ... that one of our supporters doesn't do that again," he said on Radio New Zealand.

If NZ First, which voted for the law, was prosecuted and found guilty it would pay any fine, he said.

The NZ First matter was one of four decisions released by the commission. The other three complaints were dismissed.

A complaint from The New Zealand Herald's political editor Audrey Young that a National Party flyer "Join the conversation" was an election advertisement was rejected.

It said the leaflet did not encourage people to vote and was described by National as not talking about the election, but about listening to people and developing policy, both of which were legitimate parliamentary activities.

Two other complaints regarding Green Party posters and a billboard were rejected by the commission as inconsequential or not to have been breaches of the EFA.

The commission is dealing with a small barrage of complaints and requests for clarification of the law.

One of these concerns whether logos could be deemed to be election advertising and therefore in need of a promoters statement.

Since the National Party leaflet "Join the conversation" contains logos and has no promoters statement it appears likely the commission will rule that logos alone do not need them either.

- NZPA