KEY POINTS:
National has accused Justice Minister Mark Burton of falsely representing the Electoral Finance Bill in a letter he has written to community organisations to placate them about the controversial legislation.
Deputy leader Bill English in Parliament yesterday quoted from the letter which appears to be at variance with the widely accepted effects of the bill.
The bill extends the period during which election advertising is regulated from three months to virtually all of an election year, it broadens the definition of election advertising to include "taking a position on a proposition with which one or more parties or one or more candidates is associated", and it limits spending by third parties to $60,000.
Many interest groups, including ones which lobby all parties in election year on their issues but do not support any party, such as Forest and Bird and the Sensible Sentencing Trust, have complained that they are captured by the bill.
But Mr Burton said in the letter that the Government had no intention of restricting the ability of legitimate groups to play an active role in public debate during an election year.
"Nor is that what the Electoral Finance Bill proposes. What the bill intends to capture are advertising activities by those who wish to be active in procuring electoral success for a particular party or parties.
"The only groups with anything to be concerned about are those groups who intend to run secret, big-budget campaigns to influence unduly the outcome of the election."
Mr English said Mr Burton had written a letter telling community groups the bill did not restrict their ability to play an active role in public debate in an election year "when the bill makes them register for the Chief Electoral Officer as a third party, spend no more than $60,000 from January 1 of an election year, nominate a financial agent, hire an auditor, send in a return showing expenses and donations, and get audited under certain circumstances".
"Why did he misrepresent the bill so completely in his letter?" he asked.
Steve Maharey, speaking on behalf of Mr Burton, said the letter was to correct information on the bill Mr English had sent to community organisations.
Mr Maharey also said the bill sought to have "fair, open and transparent elections" and made reference to National getting $112,000 of unlawful broadcasting time last election because it had not paid GST. "In this bill, there is an opportunity for National members to find out what GST is, how it applies to elections, how they might pay for it, and when they should pay for it."
Hearings on the bill begin tomorrow and submissions close on Friday.
