KEY POINTS:
In an embarrassing slap in the face for Act leader Rodney Hide, the Electoral Commission has found his party guilty of not declaring a $20,000-a-year office space it received as a donation.
The undeclared office space, provided by Sir Robert Jones, was one of three allegations made against Act by Winston Peters after Mr Hide reported him and his NZ First party to the police and Serious Fraud Office over donations.
The tables were turned on Mr Hide yesterday when the commission upheld the complaint, initiated by Labour MP David Benson-Pope, and ordered Act to file an amended return to include the premises it had used until 2005.
Act's party secretary had argued that the party did not benefit from the provision of the office space, and therefore did not need to declare it - although it acknowledged it was used by "the Wellington-based list MPs to carry out their constituency work".
The commission report said the Wellington office space was provided to Act by Sir Robert Jones for a number of years until 2005, and under section 214F of the Electoral Act 1993, the provision of free office space was considered a party donation.
It said the Electoral Act did not distinguish between donations to different divisions of a registered party, and found that the office space was donated to the Act party and it was therefore required to file amended returns, accompanied by auditor's reports, for the years it had the free office space.
The finding was one of three by the commission on election and advertising matters.
The commission said the Tui billboards "When Winston says no he means no - Yeah right" were not election advertisements within section 5 of the Electoral Finance Act.
It also found that donations made to NZ First in 2005, 2006 and 2007 were not included in the party's annual returns of donations - and although it found no offence in respect of the 2007 returns, NZ First is required to file amended returns and accompanying auditor's reports for 2005 and 2006.
