Parties clamour for TV spot

A court judgment ordering TV3 to include Peter Dunne and Jim Anderton in its televised leaders debate has prompted a flurry of "me too" responses from the low-polling Alliance, Destiny and Christian Heritage parties.

And it has sparked a call to set up a debates commission, such as the one that oversees United States presidential debates.

On Thursday, Justice Ron Young ordered TV3 to make room for Mr Dunne, United Future's leader, and Mr Anderton, the Progressives' leader, in its televised debate that evening.

Justice Young said although TV3 was a private organisation, the debates were performing a public function and were therefore reviewable by the court.

In the end all eight parliamentary parties were represented instead of the six the channel had wanted.

Some media organisations have condemned the ruling as court interference in editorial decisions.

But small parties have hailed it.

Alliance leader Jill Ovens said the only way to get into Parliament "is to be there already". The Alliance had polled higher than the Progressives and was as active as ever, but it was sidelined from coverage.

"This chicken-and-egg situation does not serve democracy well," Ms Ovens said said.

Destiny Party leader Richard Lewis plans to write to TVNZ next week asking that his party be included in a leaders debate on September 8, on the basis that it is also polling higher than the Progressives.

He will not rule out seeking help from the courts to be included.

The Destiny candidate for Waiariki, Hawea Vercoe, said yesterday that he would seek legal advice about getting the TVNZ programme Marae to reconsider allowing him on its August 20 show about the Waiariki electorate.

Marae is profiling the Maori electorates and has featured only Labour and Maori Party candidates, although it made an exception in Te Tai Tokerau for independent candidate Mere Mangu, who polled 15 per cent support.

TVNZ public affairs manager Megan Richards said the programme was inviting guests according to polling.

If Mr Vercoe suddenly shot ahead in the polls he would be reconsidered. The programme had run a six-minute item last week about the Destiny Party and what it stood for.

Christian Heritage leader Ewen McQueen told TV3 yesterday that he also expected to be invited to the leaders debate.

His party polled evenly with the Progressives on 0.3 per cent in the last Herald-DigiPoll survey.

The difference is that the leaders of the Progressives and United Future are expected to be in the next Parliament as secure electorate MPs - a point Justice Young made in his decision.

Meanwhile, National MP Wayne Mapp has suggested New Zealand set up an equivalent to the United States Commission on Presidential Debates.

The commission, a voluntary organisation which includes senior journalists from leading private news organisations, decides on a selection criterion for presidential and vice-presidential debates, on who chairs the debates and on the overall format.

Dr Mapp said something akin to the commission would ensure that "no one channel or any one senior journalist can effectively have an undue influence on the outcome of a democratic debate".