Bill English MP
National Party Deputy Leader

31 August 2007

Electoral reform process from bad to worse

National Party Deputy Leader Bill English says Labour should confirm reports that it is poised to carry out major surgery on the fatally wounded electoral reform bill.

“The process here is going from bad to worse. Labour is planning to dump all over the select committee and make a mockery of the public consultation that’s already been undertaken.

“Helen Clark, having said that she trusts the select committee to ‘fix’ the legislation, now appears to have changed her mind. Labour is saying it is going to make changes regardless of what the select committee decides.

“People have prepared submissions on the bill as introduced, but if the Government pursues the course of action flagged this morning, they will not get another chance to have their say on what are major changes.”

Mr English says reports today suggest two areas of the bill are being changed, including the definition of third-party advertising and the spending cap for third parties.

“The suggested changes don't just affect a couple of clauses in the bill, they have flow-on effects throughout.

“The Government is essentially saying, ‘trust us - in December sometime we'll miraculously come up with some wording you'll all be happy with, so don't bother examining these parts of the bill’.

“Labour has utterly bungled this process. This bill still proposes a ridiculous year-long election campaign – when the Government will be able to bombard the public with unlimited taxpayer-funded advertising, while everyone else will face strict limits and conditions.

“The proper thing to do would be to withdraw this fatally flawed bill and produce an amended version with broad support from all parties.

“If that is the proper thing – expect Labour to do the opposite.”

ENDS

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