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The Electoral Commission says Parliamentary-funded Labour booklets which have been declared to be election advertisements may have to count against the party's expenses - contrary to the belief of Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen.
On Wednesday, the Commission ruled that a Labour booklet, entitled We Are Making A Difference, should be considered an election advertisement. The Commission said the booklet should have had a promoter statement, meaning it should have been authorised by Labour's financial agent, but gave it a warning as it was the first offence under the new Electoral Finance Act.
The booklet was printed last year, but fell foul of the Electoral Commission because it was distributed in this, an election year. The Commission's decision gave Labour the unwanted distinction of being the first party to fall foul of rules it promoted.
Yesterday Dr Cullen indicated that he believed such literature was exempt from the expenses returns set out under the Electoral Finance Act. He told Parliament two different forms of legislation governed whether taxpayer's money could be spend on election adverts. "The Parliamentary Service Act governs what members of Parliament can spend money on. The Electoral Commission determines what is election advertising.
"Matters that are properly authorised as being for parliamentary purposes do not count as election advertising for the returns of expenses."
However, Electoral Commission spokesman Peter Northcote said unless a booklet such as We Are Making A Difference was being handed out by a Member of Parliament in their capacity as an MP, it would count towards election expenses.
"Just because something is funded by Parliamentary Services does not automatically mean that exemption applies," Mr Northcote said.
National deputy leader Bill English said if the booklet's cost did not count against Labour's election advertising spending cap it would make a mockery of the finance act.
"The nonsense about all this is that under the old rules anything that was an election advertisement counted, full stop," Mr English said.
"Labour has tried to write the act so that you can spend public money on things that are - as the Electoral Commissioner said today - election advertisements but don't count for expenses."
