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Fighting
Labour's Electoral Finance Bill - by John Boscawen
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March
for Democracy – Sunday
9 March 2008
2.30pm
Auckland
Town Hall
Campaign for the Repeal of Electoral Finance Act
Tuesday, 12 February 2008, 5:25 pm
Press Release: John Boscawen
Campaign for the Repeal of the Electoral Finance Act
Nationwide Programme of Protests planned - commencing Auckland Sunday
9th March
On its last day of sitting of 2007 Parliament passed the Electoral
Finance Act. Today, the first day of the 2008 session is an appropriate
day to protest in parliament the passing of the Act and to announce
plans for a nationwide programme of protest marches and demonstrations
against the Act. I, and others, plan to run a campaign for the Act’s
repeal. We will be organising a nationwide series of protests and
marches. Protests are planned for every major metropolitan and
provincial city in New Zealand. The first march will be held on Sunday
9th March in Auckland, leaving the Auckland Town Hall in Queen Street at
2.30pm.
I am taking this action because:
1. The Act unreasonably restricts the rights of private citizens to
speak out either in support of, or against political parties and
individual politicians – at a time when it had been made much easier
for politicians to spend taxpayer’s money to do so.
2. Parliament ignored the protestations of the Human Rights Commission
and passed into law an Act which restricts free speech for one
parliamentary term in three. The Human Rights Commission had recommended
a restriction on free speech restriction of no more than three months.
It was ignored.
3. Parliament ignored both the Electoral Commission, and the Human
Rights Commission in setting the maximum spending for third parties at
$120,000. The Electoral Commission, endorsed by the Human Rights
Commission had recommended a maximum limit of $250-$300,000.
4. Parliament has passed a law which will make it much harder to
challenge an incumbent MP.
5. Parliament ignored the Human Rights Commission when it said that:
“It would be essential that any changes be subject to the widest
possible public scrutiny to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of
whatever electoral reform emerges”. Parliament passed the Act without
referring it to a further round of public consultation.
6. Bodies such as the Human Rights Commission and the Electoral
Commission are staffed with independent state servants and operate
independently of the Government. These issues go to the heart of our
democracy and govern the very way in which we conduct our elections. It
is unconscionable that Parliament has chosen to ignore both the Human
Rights Commission and the Electoral Commission on such important
constitutional issues.
Parliament passed the law despite the protest and objections of many
thousands of New Zealanders. The Act unfairly and undemocratically
restricts the rights of our citizens. We all enjoy the benefits of the
freedoms that our forbears fought for and I and others are committed to
striving to do something to maintain it.
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March
for Democracy – Saturday 1 December 2007 –
Auckland
Speech and Press Release by John Boscawen
Thank
you for coming and for your support.
I
am John Boscawen and I have organised this march against the Electoral
Finance Bill with help from Garth McVicar of The Sensible Sentencing
Trust, [Garth sends his apologies] Bob McCoskrie of Family First and
many others including ARC Councillor Christine Rankin and
representatives of Grey Power. I also acknowledge the presence of
Newstalk ZB host Danny Watson and Grey Power National Vice-President
Don Chapman. Bob,
Christine and Danny will speak to you shortly.
I
also acknowledge the presence of a number of parliamentarians and other
civic leaders today. In
particular, MPs Wayne Mapp, Judith Collins, Jackie Blue and Rodney Hide.
As
this is apolitical march it is not my intention to invite any sitting
MPs to speak however, I am grateful that they have taken the time to
march today to show their opposition to the Bill.
Freedom
of speech is beyond party politics.
It is an issue for all New Zealanders.
The
numbers here today send a very clear message to the parties supporting
this Bill – Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First and UnitedFuture
that informed New Zealanders will not tolerate an attempt to inhibit
their freedom of speech without proper process.
Just
as importantly, they send the same message to National, ACT and the
Maori Party. New Zealanders
will not tolerate any attempt to substantially skew electoral law so
dramatically in favour of the incumbents.
I would expect John Key to make it very clear before the next
election that any government he leads will immediately repeal any
Electoral Finance Act and I invited him to provide a statement for me to
read today to that effect.
Over
the last month, I have tried to create an awareness of the provisions of
the Electoral Finance Bill and in particular, the views of our Human
Rights Commission which I believe have been ignored.
I acknowledge there have been a number of other critics of the
Bill including the NZ Law Society which is still calling for the revised
Bill to be withdrawn but I have tried to focus my campaign on the
submissions of the Human Rights Commission.
Throughout
this campaign I have been totally open, and transparent.
I have acknowledged that I am a member of the ACT party and I
have previously held elected positions within ACT.
However, as I said earlier the issues we are discussing today
concern all New Zealanders of whatever political persuasion.
I
have also disclosed openly what I have spent on this campaign.
In the last week the total expenditure, of myself, Family First
and the Sensible Sentencing Trust has exceeded $120,000.
We have done this deliberately to highlight the issues involved
and to show New Zealanders what will be illegal next year.
This is about a quarter the $500,000 that expatriate Owen Glenn
gave to Labour before the 2005 election.
I support his right to do so, it's called democracy and our
parents and grandparents fought for it.
[At
this stage I introduced again the seven former soldiers on stage with me
including gentlemen who had served in WWII, the Korean War and
Asia
].
While
you will have your own views, I should also acknowledge that there are a
number of things that Helen Clark and the Labour Party have done that I
totally support. These go
back to the 1980s when as Minister of Health Helen Clark introduced
restrictions on tobacco advertising of sport and more recently the
introduction of Smokefree environments.
I am also a keen supporter of the principles behind KiwiSaver.
Accordingly, I do not condone personal attacks on any politician.
However on issue Helen Clark and I have different positions.
This
is the second march I have organised in
Auckland
and I have done this for a number of reasons:
Firstly,
following our last march, the Prime Minister dismissed the over 2000
people present as being members of the ACT and national parties and
"not being indicative of a groundswell".
The calls to talkback radio and letters to the editor told her
how wrong she was. I wanted
to provide another opportunity for New Zealanders to demonstrate their
opposition to this Bill.
Secondly,
since the last march the Bill has been reported back to Parliament and
has passed its second reading. Despite
the protestations of Human Rights Commission restrictions place on free
speech under the Bill will apply for a full election year, a potential
eleven months in every three yearly electoral cycle.
No other democracy in the world has such severe restrictions.
Thirdly,
the government continues to ignore the submission of the Commission on
three principal areas. I
will come back to this shortly, but before I do, it is important to
acknowledge a number of significant changes to the Bill which were
introduced last week. Not
surprisingly the Commission supports some of these as do I.
Some
of you may be surprised to know that in the original Bill there was a
requirement that any individual or group wanting to speak out on any
political issue first had to either register with the Electoral
Commission or sign a statutory declaration before a Justice of the
Peace. For example, the
placards that many of you carried with you down
Queen Street
this afternoon would have been illegal under the original Bill if you
had not first signed a statutory declaration.
While
this requirement has now been dropped, it is hard to comprehend how the
parties supporting this Bill allowed such a draconian provision to be
introduced to our parliament in the first place.
I believe that this was just one of the provisions in the
original Bill that breached your basic human rights and I commenced
legal action, with others, against the Attorney General, Michael Cullen
seeking a declaration from the Court that he failed to meet his
obligations under section 7 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990 to notify
parliament that the Electoral Finance Bill was in breach of the Bill of
Rights Act. I continue to
believe that this is the case and the proceedings are continuing.
In
addition, the definition of political advertising and the range of third
parties likely to be caught by the legislation have been tightened.
These are all positive things.
Notwithstanding
these changes it is very important to understand the draconian and
anti-democratic nature of the provisions that remain.
Firstly,
the overriding effect of the Bill is to reduce and restrict the rights
of individuals or groups to spend their own money either criticising or
supporting any political party or parties.
It has been discussed at a time when the recent Appropriation Act
substantially freed up the ability of political parties and in
particular, the governing party, be it Labour or National, to spend
taxpayer’s money promoting their own views.
For example, the Appropriation Act which was passed just 10 days
ago now makes legal taxpayer spending on a large range of activities
that would have been previously illegal, including the so called Labour
pledgecard.
Secondly,
restrictions are now being placed on the amount of money that may be
spent by so called third parties – that's me and you – in an
election year. Third parties
wanting to spend between $12,000 and $120,000 opposing or supporting any
political party will now be required to register and be subject to
various regulations including a search warrant.
Spending in excess of $120,000 in election year will be illegal.
This sum compares with the total cost of the election campaign
run by the major opposition party, inclusive of both private and
taxpayer money of $5-10 million, and in the case of the major governing
party a sum well in excess of $10 million.
So
we have the hypocrisy of parliament taking more of your money to discuss
their views, while restricting your right to spend you own money
promoting your own. You will
be simply drowned out.
Restrictions
also apply to candidates wanting to stand for parliament.
A candidate who is not currently an MP will only be able to spend
$20,000 seeking election over the entire year, versus the current three
months. However, an existing
MP will have in addition to the same $20,000 limit, much larger and more
freely available amounts of taxpayer funding.
This is unfair and it will even be harder to unseat a sitting MP.
The
revised Bill has also introduced tighter restrictions on anonymous
donations to political parties which were not in the original Bill and
have not been subject to the select committee consultation process.
I
would now like to come to the submissions of the Human Rights
Commission.
The
Commission is an independent Crown Entity mandated by the Human Rights
Act 1993 and funded by taxpayers. It
has been set up to protect our most basic human rights.
The Human Rights Commission is headed by Labour appointee Rosslyn
Noonan, a form trade unionist and National Secretary of the Primary
Teachers Union, the NZEI.
The
Commission called the original bill 'inherently
flawed' and its provisions a "dramatic
assault on two fundamental rights that New Zealanders cherish, freedom
of expression and the right of informed citizens to participate in the
election process".
It
also said "the
proposed legislation lacks public authorisation and as a consequence
will undermine the legitimacy of political processes.
It requires radical change".
On
18 October Garth McVicar and I attended a specially convened Select
Committee meeting to hear Rosslyn Noonan and her colleague Dr Judy
McGregor.
Rosslyn
Noonan reasserted the view that the Bill should be withdrawn and went on
to say that if it wasn't withdrawn it would be essential that any
changes be subject to the widest possible scrutiny by way of a further
round of public consultation. Her
exact words were and I quote:
"The
Commission's preference is, and remains, that the proposed legislation,
the Bill, is withdrawn and redrafted to take into account the very
substantial and in-depth submissions of the over 600 submitters to the
Select Committee".
"If
it is not to be withdrawn, and rewritten, the Commission's view is that
it is essential that any changes be subject to the widest possible
public scrutiny to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of whatever
electoral law reform emerges".
The
Commission also said that the current regulatory period of three months
prior to election day, when free speech is restricted should be retained
and not extended to a potential eleven months.
The government has ignored them on this issue also and there is
not democratic country in the world that has restrictions on free speech
of this length.
I
invited Rosslyn Noonan to march with us at the last
Auckland
march but she advised that to do so would be against Commission policy.
She did however say that she is watching with interest.
The Commission could not run the advertising that we have, nor
organise the marches and so we took it upon ourselves to do it for them.
I
believe Rosslyn Noonan has taken a courageous and principled stand
against the draconian provisions of this Bill.
Rosslyn Noonan and her colleague, Dr Judy McGregor are a credit
to our tradition of an independent public service.
Despite the fact that they were appointed by this Labour
government, they have taken their role as a key accountability mechanism
in our democracy very seriously. The
government's hypocrisy in ignoring the Human Rights Commission is
further illustrated by the fact that they have put so much effort into
the human rights issues in
Zimbabwe
and
Fiji
while blatantly ignoring our own.
I
believe the provisions of this Bill go to the very heart of our
democracy. It this
legislation passes we will not have a democracy.
It provides massive benefits to incumbent governments.
To
further illustrate this point, I would like to read a brief extract from
last Thursday’s
Wellington
’s Dominion Post editorial:
“At
election time in real democracies –
New Zealand
used to be one – ordinary voters, as well as lobby groups can
participate through public meetings, advertising, marches and, in this
technological age the blogosphere. No
longer”.
Last
month on talkback radio I queried if the National Party would be
prepared to repeal this legislation given the massive benefits they
would derive from it.
I
was asked earlier this week if I would allow John Key to speak if he
attended this march. As I
was very keen to keep it apolitical, I said I was reluctant to allow him
to speak but I would be prepared to read a brief statement from him if
it clarified National's position, and in particular if it corrected
anything I had said on talkback radio.
I
will now read the statement he provided me.
“Within
two weeks Helen Clark's Labour Government will force the Electoral
Finance Bill on to the people of
New Zealand
.
They
plan to steamroll this bill into law by a slim majority of Parliament
before Christmas. National
simply does not have the votes to stop it.
Labour
has turned its back on the convention that significant changes to our
election laws should have bi-partisan political support, and public
backing.
The
Electoral Finance Bill has neither.
It
stifles free speech for one in every three years, and it is cynically
designed to protect incumbency.
Labour
is not listening. National
is.
Today,
I give you this assurance. If
I have the privilege to be the next Prime Minister I will overturn this
law. I will set about
building a proper political consensus for fair changes to our election
rules. I will listen to what
people like you, and many thousands of others are saying.
You
are fighting for a principle.
You
are fighting for THE most important principle.
You
are fighting for democracy.
I
salute you
John
Key”
Ladies
and Gentlemen
I
am not a politician and you may think I am naive, and I recognise that
John Key knows his opponents better than I do, but I disagree with John
Key. He has said Labour will
force this Bill through in the next fortnight.
I do not believe that this is necessarily so.
I have organised this protest march today to further create
awareness and opposition to this Bill.
I believe our future is in your hands.
I believe there is still time to convince the politicians
supporting this Bill to act on the recommendations of our Human Rights
Commission and withdraw the Bill. Failing
that, at the very least, the regulatory period for third party speech
should be reduced to three months and the Bill put out for a further
round of public consultation as required by the Commission.
No
one should be in any doubt whatsoever that this government supported by
New Zealand First, UnitedFuture and the Greens is proposing legislation
that will gag public criticism for one year in three.
This is by far the worst for any democracy in the world.
The
Prime Minister also said that New Zealanders had not “engaged” on
this issue. I agree with her
and I believe she is counting on that to introduce the most draconian
attack on our freedoms of speech imaginable.
Finally,
the Prime Minister concluded to Mike Hosking by saying "I
think you will find that every issue that the Human Rights Commission
raised as been addressed". I
totally disagree with her. The
Commission has called for the amended Bill to have the widest possible
public scrutiny. The
Commission has been ignored and the Prime Minister continues to treat
the watchdog of our human rights and our people with total disdain.
You
have taken considerable time to be here today just three weeks before
Christmas. I urge you to
take just ten minutes more to email or write to the Prime Minister and
the leaders of the other parties supporting this Bill and to simply ask
why they are not prepared to follow the submission of our own Human
Rights Commission in full.
Thank
you again for attending and I will now call on Mr Bob McCoskrie to
address you.
ENDS
John
Boscawen
Phone
021 760 630
john@boscawen.co.nz
Two months ago, I responded to Muriel’s call for help on these web
pages in respect of the Electoral Finance Bill.
Now,
on Armistice Day 2007, a day in which we remember the sacrifice of those
who fought for our freedoms, and in particular our freedom of speech, I
am calling on you to do the same for me and for the future of this
country.
Since
reading about the bill on Muriel’s webpage in total shock and
disbelief at how the very tenets of our democracy were under attack I
have:
-
Made
both written and oral submissions on the bill.
-
Read
the over 600 submissions and the Crown Law opinion which argues that
the bill is not inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act 1993.
I read that the registration requirements which are imposed,
with few exceptions, on all New Zealanders who wish to express a
political opinion in election year “appeared necessary” and
that “no further issue of justification arises”. That
opinion also argued that parliament had a “wide margin” in how
it implemented electoral law. The Law Society strongly
disagrees.
-
Met
with the Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan. She is a
former trade unionist and National Secretary of the NZEI. In
its submission, the Commission called the bill “ inherently
flawed” and called on the government to withdraw it. I returned to
Wellington
to hear the Commission present its oral submission at an
especially convened meeting of the Select Committee on 18 October. I
heard the Commissioners Rosslyn Noonan and Dr. Judy Mc Gregor
clearly state that if the bill was not to be withdrawn and if the
government insisted in continuing on, whatever changes that were
proposed MUST be resubmitted for a further round of public
consultation. The Commission
also said that the current regulatory period of three months prior
to an election when free speech is restricted must not be extended
by up to eleven months to 1 January as the bill proposes. The
Commission’s demands for the bill to be withdrawn, and if it is
not, re-advertised for comment, and then only with a three month
regulatory period, are looming as the major issues. To date the
government has given no indication it will accede to any of these
requests. In fact, the comments of the Green Party MP Metiria Turei
and Labour’s David Benson–Pope to the Commissioners that
morning, along with an article by Peter Dunne recently published
in the Dominion, imply the exact opposite. It is hard to comprehend
that a tax payer funded body set up to protect our basic human
rights including our freedoms of speech, and in recognition of our
United Nations obligations, is seemingly about to be totally
ignored.
-
Lodged
legal proceedings in the High Court at
Wellington
against the Attorney General effectively challenging the
Crown Law opinion ( with Garth Mc Vicar, spokesperson for Sensible
Sentencing Trust, Graham Stairmand, National President of the 93,000
member Greypower Association and Rodney Hide ).
-
Run
a nationwide radio advertising campaign late last week against the
bill across seven radio networks. On the NewstalkZB network the ten
ads appeared throughout the day on the hour during the news
bulletins.
-
Announced
plans for a major public demonstration and march down Queen Street
on Saturday November 17th. We will assemble outside the
Town Hall from 10am and leave at 10.30 to march down Queen Street
to Britomart Place. And on Wednesday 21st November we will march on
Parliament from Lambton Quay. Assemble at 12.30pm
This
issue is beyond party politics. It has nothing to do with political
philosophy, but everything to do with freedom. It is an issue of concern
to all New Zealanders.
The
world will be watching to see how easily we will allow our democratic
rights to be taken from us, or whether we fight to protect them.
The
choice is yours fellow New Zealanders.
How
can you help?
There
are many things that you can do.
You
can write to the Prime Minister and leaders of the other major political
parties, particularly those supporting the bill, the Greens, New Zealand
First and United. Their email addresses are on the Parliamentary website
and elsewhere on Muriel’s website. You may like to ask the Prime
Minister and the others why she has to date not been prepared to act on
the submission of our own Human Rights Commission and withdraw the
bill, when she, rightly, appears concerned about human rights in
countries such as Fiji or Zimbabwe.
(The email addresses of all MPs
can be found on the NZCPR Parliament page - click here>>> )
You
can write letters to your local editors and ring talkback radio.
For the ZB Network, ring 0800 801080.
You
can march on Saturday 17th in Queen Street
to oppose the bill and show your support for stance taken by the Human
Rights Commission and for democracy in New Zealand. I believe the only way the Prime Minister will back down
on this
issue will be if either the Greens or NZ First withdraw their support
for the bill, or the Prime Minister believes the political cost of
continuing outweighs the massive advantages this legislation will give
her. For this reason we need as many people as possible to attend this
march. Please use whatever means available to help promote this march.
Finally
since the radio campaign I have been approached by those offering
financial support. The “ Freedom of Speech Trust” has been
formed and should you wish to assist financially, you may do so by
sending a cheque to the trust, at
Box 42
-
267, Orakei, Auckland.
You
can also contact me, John Boscawen, on john@boscawen.co.nz
to help.
To
return to the NZCPR Electoral Finance Bill campaign page click here>>>
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