KEY POINTS:
The National Party's last ditch bid to delay the Electoral Finance Bill failed today when Parliament voted 65-56 against an amendment that would have moved its implementation date to April 1 next year.
It was National's last chance to change the bill, because it went on to complete its committee stage and now has to pass only one more stage - its third reading - before becoming law.
The third reading could take place on Thursday, although that is unlikely, and Parliament is expected to sit on Tuesday of next week to pass the bill.
The provisions of the bill will be effective from January 1 next year, and National has argued that there is not enough time for the public or the officials responsible for administering it to fully understand all its clauses and prepare for the effect they will have.
NZPA reported on Friday that Justice Department officials had told the Government the bill should be passed by the end of November so there would be time to prepare for its implementation, and National used that to back its argument for a delayed implementation date.
But the Government and its support parties New Zealand First and United Future, with the backing of the Greens as well, ensured National's attempt failed.
They all want the bill passed into law quickly, so that one of its most important provisions comes in on January 1.
That provision extends the regulated period for election campaigns from the current three months before an election to the whole year in which an election takes place.
It means that spending caps on political parties for their campaigns will cover the whole year and not just the three months before an election.
The effect of that is to stop a party starting its campaign early and spending money outside the cap.
During today's debate National's MPs maintained their fierce attacks on the bill, which re-writes the rules for election campaigns.
It puts a cap on how much money third parties can spend and requires them to register if they want to spend more than certain amounts.
National says it is an assault on democracy and free speech. The Government says it is creating a level playing field that will stop wealthy people and organisations "buying" elections.
As the bill went through its committee stage debate, National MPs suggested alternative names for it.
They included The Bill of Wrongs, Helen Clark's Suppression of Free Speech Bill and the Let's Shoot Ourselves in the Foot Bill.
There was no limit on the length of time the committee stage debate could take, and it used up most of Parliament's time last week.
The third reading debate is limited to two hours.
- NZPA
