Election advertisements

The Bill as introduced regulates “election advertisements” and defines the term "election advertisement", for the purposes of the Electoral Act 1993, "unless the context otherwise requires", as an advertisement in any medium that may reasonably be regarded as encouraging or persuading voters: to vote, or not to vote, for one or more candidates; or to vote, or not to vote, for one or more parties; or to vote, or not to vote, for one or more candidates and one or more parties; or to vote, or not to vote, for a type of candidate described or indicated by reference to views or positions that are, or are not, held or taken (whether or not the name of the candidate is stated); or to vote, or not to vote, for a type of party described or indicated by reference to views or positions that are, or are not, held or taken (whether or not the name of the party is stated).

The Bill as introduced then details the things which are not election advertisements. These are broadly:

• an advertisement that is published, or caused or permitted to be published, by the Electoral Commission, the Chief Registrar of Electors, or any other agency charged with responsibilities in relation to the conduct of any official publicity or information campaign to be conducted on behalf of the Government of New Zealand;
• any news or comments, other than advertising material, relating to an election in a periodical that is written or selected by, or with the authority of, the editor solely for the purpose of informing, enlightening, or entertaining readers;
• any content of a radio or television programme, other than advertising material, that has been selected by, or with the authority of, a broadcaster (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1989) solely for the purpose of informing, enlightening, or entertaining the programme's audience;
• any news or comments, other than advertising material, published on a news media Internet site that is written or selected by, or with the authority of, the editor or person responsible for the Internet site solely for the purpose of informing, enlightening, or entertaining readers;
• the publication by an individual, on a non-commercial basis, of his or her personal political views on or through the Internet or any other electronic medium.

The Select Committee has recommended the following definition. An election advertisement means:

• an advertisement in any medium that may reasonably be regarded as encouraging or persuading voters to do either or both of the following:
  • to vote, or not to vote, for a type of candidate described or indicated by reference to views or positions that are, or are not, held or taken (whether or not the name of the candidate is stated):
  • to vote, or not to vote, for a type of party described or indicated by reference to views or positions that are, or are not, held or taken (whether or not the name of the party is stated); and
• includes a candidate advertisement and a party advertisement.

However, none of the following are election advertisements:

• an advertisement that:
  • is published, or caused or permitted to be published, by the Electoral Commission, the Chief Registrar of Electors, or any other agency charged with responsibilities in relation to the conduct of any official publicity or information campaign to be conducted on behalf of the Government of New Zealand; and
  • relates to electoral matters or the conduct of any general election or by-election; and contains either:
    • a statement indicating that the advertisement has been authorised by that officer or agency; or
    • a symbol indicating that the advertisement has been authorised by that officer or agency;
  • “contact information” published in any medium by a member of Parliament that satisfies all of the following requirements:
    • the information was published by a member of Parliament in the course of performing his or her role and functions as a member of Parliament; and
    • the information was prepared for publication and published by the member of Parliament using funding received under Vote Parliamentary Service; and
    • the information was routinely published in that medium before the commencement of the regulated period and continues to be published in that medium during the regulated period; and
    • the information is published during the regulated period no more often and to no greater extent than before the commencement of the regulated period; and
    • the information is published during the regulated period in the same form and style as before the commencement of the regulated period; and
    • the information is not included, combined, or associated with an election advertisement (as defined above), or with any other information so as to constitute an election advertisement, that is published by the member of Parliament or the secretary of the party to which the member of Parliament belongs or any other person with the authority of the member of Parliament;
  • the editorial content of a periodical, a radio or television programme, a publication on a news media Internet site, any transmission (whether live or not) of proceedings in the House of Representatives, any publication on the Internet, or other electronic medium, of personal political views by an individual who does not make or receive a payment in respect of the publication of those views (Part 1, Clause 5, inserting New Section 3A (‘Meaning of election advertisement”) into the Act).

Donations

In respect of donations, the Select Committee has recommended that:

• the definitions of “candidate donation” and “party donation” be altered to exclude donations of goods or services (which does not include monetary donations) of an equivalent value of $300 or less for candidates and $1,500 or less for parties;

• the donation disclosure limit for parties be increased from $10,000 to $15,000;

• the limit for party donations received from the same donor that require a party secretary to file a return within 10 working days be increased from $20,000 to $30,000;

• the donation disclosure limit for candidates be increased from $1,000 to $1,500 and that similar increases be made to all $1,000 disclosure limits in the Electoral Act, such as anonymous donations, overseas donations, and protected disclosure donations (Part 1, amending Clause 21 and inserting New Clause 21A).

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