northland chamber

China or NZ? - if this was 2008 would I be able to write this column……………


The Electoral Finance act is currently going through the parliamentary process and is likely to be adopted before Xmas.

Firstly what is it? According to Parliament the purpose is to strengthen the law governing electoral financing and broadcasting to maintain public confidence, promote public participation, prevent the undue influence of wealth and provide greater transparency on the part of the candidates. These objectives are all good and we would totally support any measures that attempt to bring transparency and maintain a level playing field.

The Prime Minister Helen Clark however says the key question over the Electoral Finance Bill is whether people want money to dictate who wins an election. Under closer scrutiny we discovered that the powers of the bill were in fact far reaching and quite totalitarian

It was only after recent lobbying that the Bills Authors removed the need for lobby groups such as the Chamber of Commerce to register with a pre determined (By the Government) State Authority however the Bill may still curtail the policy, advocacy and lobbying activities of industry organisations. Groups such as Chambers of Commerce may still have to be very careful about the use of words that refer to views on an issue which might persuade voters to vote for a party based on those views. This means it may not be possible for us to publish a summary of party policies on an issue and compare them with our own. Keeping our members informed of what parties’ policies are and comparing them with our own could be deemed to be persuading them to vote for a party under the Bill.

If this was 2008 it is very likely under the proposed bill that group such as The Northland Chamber of Commerce would not be allowed to express dissatisfaction with the Government of the day. The concern I have about this is twofold.

Firstly, The Northland Chamber of Commerce has existed for over 100 years to represent the interests of our members (Northland Business). We do this by questioning policy, suggesting business friendly legislation acting as the voice of business and being pro-active in ensuring our members know what policies the various parties are offering.

Secondly, although I just cant put my finger on it, this type of legislation reeks ever so slightly of moving along a continuum towards suppression of speech as opposed to ‘freedom of speech’
We are issue-driven not party driven. We are not in the business of telling members who to vote for but we do want parties to adopt policies that enhance New Zealand business. We also have a role in keeping our members informed as to where parties stand on particular issues affecting businesses. This legislation could prevent us from doing this.

It is surprising to see the Government really pushing this bill, its not very popular, with anyone. As a matter of fact the only good thing about ludicrous pieces of legislation such as this is the amazing way it has pulled people from all political spectrums together to voice their dissent including major Newspapers, political commentators, The Law Society, Human Rights groups and a new breed of protesters.

This remains a repressive and undemocratic bill. Any MPs who vote for the Bill should expect to suffer the electoral consequences of voting to strip New Zealanders of their ability to easily criticise political parties and MPs.

Therefore – While I can still legally do so, PLEASE take the time to explore whether your local MP, Party List members stands on this issue. Ask you local member whether they will repeal aspects of this bill if they are in power after 2008? If they supported this legislation in 2007 then you must send a very clear message by NOT placing two ticks in that parties column in 2008 at the General Election.