KEY POINTS:
Criticism of the Government's Electoral Finance Bill has continued to mount with an article in a law magazine saying it proposes "misguided and chilling" limits on free speech which breach the Bill of Rights.
Writing in NZLawyer, Bell Gully partner Roger Partridge and solicitor Jesse Wilson said the
bill effectively requires people to get permission to express their opinion and it rations how much third parties can say.
Under the bill, spending by third parties would be capped at $60,000 during an election year.
National says the law would catch nearly everyone who wants to express an opinion, and has accused the Government of trying to stifle opponents while it uses taxpayer cash to explain its policies.
The Government says the bill is needed to stop organisations like the Exclusive Brethren using millions of dollars to "buy" election results.
Yesterday Prime Minister Helen Clark said the Government did not intend changing the bill ahead of select committee hearings.
The NZLawyer article said rules set out in the bill would curtail opportunities for people to express their ideas in an election year - when they mattered most.
It said the bill, by requiring people to register with the Chief Electoral Officer, effectively created a licensing regime for political speech.
"Its conceptual premise is fundamentally inconsistent with the principle that citizens do not require prior authorisation to express their views about the Government or political issues of the day."
Limits on third party advertising "rationed" the amount of free speech they were allowed.
"Not only are the caps in the bill inconsistent in principle with the right to freedom of expression but the rations are meagre."
The article said rights set out in the Bill of Rights were subject to reasonable limitations but it disagreed the proposals could be covered by that.
"The limitations are far from reasonable and there is no basis for a suggestion that they are needed to tackle corruption."
The article calls for people to oppose the bill's "misguided and chilling" proposals.
Asked about the article this morning, Miss Clark said she had not read it.
"No I haven't read it and I normally wouldn't respond to hyperbole," she said.
The Government has previously admitted the bill may have unintended consequences but says they can be sorted out in the select committee process.
- NZPA
