Darnton vs Clark

A lawsuit has been filed today against Helen Clark and the other 48 Labour MPs (as at August 2005) in relations to their use of taxpayer funding for their 2005 election pledge cards.

The lawsuit claims the expenditure on the production and distribution of the pledge card and related brochure was a breach of Article 4 of the Bill of Rights 1688, section 22(c) of the Constitution Act 1986 s.22(c) and multiple sections of the Public Finance Act 1989.

A high court lawsuit is not a cheap affair, and the lawyers and parties involved would not be undertaking this without a very reasonable belief they can succeed. It will be a fascinating legal battle, somewhat reminiscent of Fitzgerald vs Muldoon 1976 (which Muldoon lost).