Press Release: Immediate

On-line Petition to Oppose "Mugabe" Bill

"To date the public have failed to appreciate the implications to free speech arising from the Electoral Finance Bill", says Dr Muriel Newman, Director of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research and former MP.

To address these concerns Dr Newman has started an on-line petition to oppose the bill. The petition can be found at www.nzcpr.com.

"I've launched this petition in response to the widespread concern about the bill expressed to me through the New Zealand Centre for Political Research. Since starting the NZCPR two years ago, there has never been such a potential threat to our basic democratic rights. In fact it is probably the worst in decades, as highlighted by Mike Moore's recent comments", Dr Newman said.

Unfortunately the wider public have yet to appreciate the seriousness of the situation.

"The bill imposes such wide-ranging restrictions on the right of the public to speak out on policy issues during election year that it effectively bans our freedom of speech. Those restrictions, which will come into effect on January 1st and last right up until the election, are so serious that a failure to comply can result in a one-year prison sentence or a fine of up to $40,000.

"While there are presently no restrictions on the freedom of speech of third parties (unless they are campaigning for a candidate or a political party) under the new bill, almost anyone who speaks out on an issue that a party or candidate has an opinion on - such as tax cuts, a cap on rates, child poverty, global warming, the foreshore and the seabed, and so on – could be caught by the new law. Further, the definition of "election advertising" has been set so wide that it encompasses emails and letters, as well as advertisements, leaflets, billboards and the like.

"Any third party spending less that $500 locally or $5,000 nationally will be required to make a statutory declaration. Otherwise they will have to register with the state, appoint a financial agent, provide details of donors, be restricted to a limit of $2,000 on local campaigns and $60,000 nationally, and be subjected to audits and investigations. All anonymous donation of over $500 will be confiscated.

Dr Newman said it was ironic that the government's ability to spend unlimited amounts of taxpayers' money promoting its policies during election year - through so-called public service advertisements - remains completely unconstrained.

"In New Zealand we have a rich legacy of public information sharing in election year. Traditionally third parties fundraise and campaign on their concerns in order to persuade politicians to turn them into election issues. In doing this, they help to ensure that the public is kept well informed on matters of community interest.

"The Electoral Finance Bill, which was supported to a Select Committee by Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First, United Future and the Progressives, is the sort of legislation one would expect to emerge from oppressive regimes like Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe, not New Zealand.

"It is vital that anyone who believes in free speech supports my petition. That way we can send a very strong message to all political parties that they attack the public's right to free speech in election year at their peril", Dr Newman said.

ENDS

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