Spending rules clear: National

National has rejected Helen Clark's call for a clarification of the rules around leaders' spending, saying the rules are clear and she should simply follow them.

The Prime Minister said the electoral laws needed reviewing after the Electoral Commission referred Labour to the police over its credit-card promises paid for out of her taxpayer funded parliamentary leader's fund.

In the commission's view, the card - and another pamphlet paid for by taxpayers - constituted electioneering and should therefore have been included in Labour's election expenses return.

"The law is unclear and needs to be clarified," Helen Clark told National Radio. "There have been quite a number of complaints referred in this way for investigation affecting a range of parties."

National is also being investigated for failing to include $100,000 GST in its broadcasting expenses.

National deputy Gerry Brownlee said the Parliamentary Service Commission clarified the rules on leaders' funding in 2003 after the Greens complained about full-page newspaper ads that had been taken out by New Zealand First titled: "Work out if you live in a democracy or a dictatorship."

"The desire then was to make sure everybody understood how you could access those funds for public information purposes."

The rules prohibit spending on items designed to attract support for political parties.

Labour's pledge card - seven key promises printed on the shape of a credit card - could not possibly meet that criterion, Mr Brownlee said.

"The rules do not need clarifying in this regard. They simply need to be implemented.

"Helen Clark and [Labour president] Mike Williams are doing whatever they can to murky the field or putting themselves in a position where they are viewed more sympathetically than they deserve."

He believed that Helen Clark should not only refund the cost of the 2005 card, but the 2002 and 1999 cards as well, which had also been funded by the tax-payer. That total is between $500,000 and $1 million.

Mr Brownlee said he would have complained about the cards before if he had known they breached rules.