KEY POINTS:
Labour President Mike Williams is calling on the Electoral Commission to abandon its policy of not pre-approving party election advertisements to avoid confusion over what will or will not count.
In a press conference ahead of the party's election-year Congress starting in Wellington today, he said that the act meant Labour would be spending less money in the election year and relying more on old-fashioned campaigning. "There's a lid on everything at the moment. At the moment we are not spending anything."
The act extended the regulated advertising period from three months before an election to start at January 1 of the election year.
He noted that the Chief Electoral Officer at the last election, David Henry, had actively engaged with candidates and parties before the election.
That included the Exclusive Brethren businessmen who sought advice from Mr Henry on how to spend $1.2 million supporting National without it counting against National's campaign expenses.
"He looked at their stuff and he said 'this is attributable and here's how you make it not attributable'."
To be fair, the Electoral Commission should do that, he said, as well as coming up with some clear determinations on what was and wasn't election advertising.
The Electoral Finance Act was passed last year to stop a repeat of similar Exclusive Brethren advertising.
Mr Williams said he would again be asking Owen Glenn for a donation despite the business magnate feeling burned by recent publicity. He had offered his resignations to Prime Minister Helen Clark for failing to reveal when questioned by a reporter that Mr Glenn had given the party a $100,000 interest-free loan.
Mr Glenn himself revealed it in a later interview and said he had given a substantial money to another undisclosed party.
Mr Glenn gave Labour $500,000 for the last election. Mr Williams said he could not anticipate what Mr Glenn's response would be: "He is what you call capricious."
The Congress will be the first public outing for Helen Clark since returning from China triumphantly with a Free Trade Agreement.
The agreement will provide an important pro-business platform for her in the event of a backlash against any decision to prevent Canadian interests buying 40 per cent of Auckland International Airport share.
It will also be an important platform for the party to parade its rejuvenated ranks with a new generation of Cabinet ministers, a slew of new candidates, and new MPs who have come in on the list to replace retiring candidates. Helen Clark makes her key address tomorrow.
