Retiring Electoral Commissioner calls for reform and education
The retiring chief executive of the Electoral Commission, Dr Paul Harris, has called for a single and independent
electoral agency, a change to election advertising laws and increased resources for electoral education.
He gave his personal views at a retirement function hosted this week by Associate Justice Minister Rick Barker and
attended by more than 100 current and former politicians, judges, academics, public officials, and electoral
stakeholders.
“The structure of electoral administration is still fragmented,” Dr Harris said, “and I look forward to the day when we
have the modern form of a single electoral agency with clear responsibility for the whole parliamentary electoral
process and with complete and clear statutory independence from political parties and the Executive.”
(In 2001 an electoral taskforce recommended the formation of a single electoral agency.)
Dr Harris also said he was frustrated at the slow pace of electoral law refinement. “I think it is particularly
unfortunate that there has not been a major review of election broadcasting law under MMP since, in my view, aspects of
the current regime would be difficult to justify in a free and democratic society.”
(Dr Harris said later he was referring to the law restricting political parties to spend no more on broadcast
advertising than any amount of public funding they might receive, and preventing parties not allocated money from doing
any broadcast advertising at all. He believed all parties should be free to spend on broadcast advertising within their
overall election expense limits.)
Finally, Dr Harris alluded to a lack of funding that prevented the Commission doing more electoral education, especially
among young people, women, Mâori and Pacific Island people.
“This educational work will become more important given the demographic changes New Zealand will experience in the next
few years. It can also contribute to countering the uninformed cynicism about politics and politicians which can easily
undermine the foundations of the democracy we can too readily take for granted.”
Dr Harris said later he hoped that the Commission, Government and Parliament would address these matters over the next
few years.
Dr Harris, a political scientist, has been chief executive (and one of four electoral commissioners) since the
Commission’s inception in 1994. Previously, he was a senior lecturer in political science at Victoria University during
which time he also served as principal research officer to the Royal Commission on the Electoral System 1985-86. He has
consulted internationally on electoral matters.
Dr Harris said he was looking forward to a long summer vacation before finding new challenges. His successor is yet to
be announced.
The Commission, an independent Crown entity, registers political parties and logos, monitors political parties’ election
spending and donations, delivers electoral education, and provides advice to the government and parliament on electoral
matters.
Other speakers at the function included Associate Justice Minister Hon Rick Barker, former Justice Minister Hon Tony
Ryall, and Electoral Commission president Hon Tony Ellis QC.