Green leader praises Act for 'copying' overseas campaign

Act's overseas election campaign is an effort to stop its New Zealand vote collapsing, Green Party co-leader Rod Donald said today.

Act leader Richard Prebble announced the strategy yesterday, saying "our overseas vote is our secret weapon".

But Mr Donald, whose party had two overseas candidates in the 1999 election, said Act's move was more a sign of desperation then of brilliance.

"Good luck to them, and thanks for copying partially what we did last time," he said.

The Greens would have candidates based in Australia and London in this election, he said.

In 1999 London-based candidate Celia Wade-Brown attended All Black rugby tests, visited Kiwi pubs with the UK New Zealand News and went on British television.

"Our overseas specials -- they weren't as good as Act's, I have to admit -- were 5.6 per cent," Mr Donald said.

That was slightly higher than an overall party vote of 5.2 per cent. The Greens were looking to triple their overseas vote this time.

Act won 12.8 per cent of the overseas vote in 1999, far higher than the 7 per cent it captured overall.

Only 11,482 overseas votes counted in the 1999 election, but a law change since opened up what Act considered a glorious opportunity.

Voters no longer have to fulfil a legal requirement to make a complete enrolment every three years.

Those living overseas can now download ballot papers off the internet.

They can vote by posting or faxing a ballot paper to the Chief Electoral Office by 7pm on polling day.

Mr Prebble predicted a 10-fold increase in the overseas vote for the July 27 election.

He told reporters an estimated 600,000 New Zealanders live overseas.

About 250,000 of those were potential voters, 174,255 having left the country since the last election.

Mr Prebble would travel to Hong Kong, where many Chinese New Zealanders lived "temporarily".

Deputy leader Ken Shirley would go to London, where 60,000 young New Zealanders were thought to live.

Justice spokesman Stephen Franks is now campaigning in Australia.

MPs would pay for the trips out of their own pockets, Mr Prebble said.

- NZPA

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