NZ POLITICS DAILY: Election advertising rule breakers

It all seems to be getting a bit silly – the constant complaints, reporting and debate about political parties and electoral candidates breaking the rules over their various election advertising.

In fact it’s almost been one of the defining elements of the whole election campaign since the start of the year. The latest minor controversies can be read in the following examples: TV3’s Labour MP Jacinda Ardern breaches signs bylaw, David Farrar’s TV3 reports Ardern breaking the law, John Pagani’s The signs of scofflaws, and Vernon Small’s Election signs breach council's laws.

For most voters, it’s all a big yawn, but for many politicos it’s incredibly important. Ever since the 2005 election when the Exclusive Brethren and the Labour Party allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on election advertising that broke the rules, this area surrounding political finance and advertising has often been at the centre of partisan electoral debate.

The passing of the deeply-flawed Electoral Finance Act 2007 was the pinnacle of this debate.

Often the incidents that are argued over are trivial, but the principles are actually quite significant. Some of these were explained quite well today on RNZ’s Nine-to-Noon – listen to Law with James Dunne.

These arguments will go on-and-on in New Zealand politics – partly because such debates contain strong opportunities to allege wrong-doing, hypocrisy, and corruption about political opponents.

These are powerful electoral weapons in modern politics, because the public is now very receptive to revelations about political impropriety. So, yes, some of the debate can be rather petty and silly, and much it also relates to the can of worms that comes from attempting to over-regulate political activity.

But overall, it’s actually very good to have political parties being monitored to ensure that they are playing by their own rules.

Bryce Edwards, NZPD Editor (bryce.edwards@otago.ac.nz)

Today’s content:

Surveillance law reform

Edward Gay and Andrew Koubaridis (NZH): Revealed: What cops filmed in Ureweras

Andrea Vance (Stuff): Labour blunders on 'fixit' bill – govt

Derek Cheng: Labour's plan on secret police cameras gets boot – twice

Andrea Vance (Stuff): Merit in surveillance legislation but concerns too

Derek Cheng (NZH): 47 police film cases in limbo – Collins

TVNZ: Covert surveillance bill passes first reading

Andrew Geddis (Pundit): For law geeks only…

Act Party