An example of the proposed Act
Many NZers hate battery hen farming. There is I am sure a group out there that campaigns on that.
Now the Greens have identified themselves as wanting battery hen farming to be outlawed.
This means in election year it will be illegal for any organisation to spend money promoting or advertising that battery hen farming should be illegal, unless they do the following:
(a) File a statutory declaration every time they do anything costing money, that the cost over the year will be under $5,000.
or
(b) File an application to the Government to be registered as a “third party” and then appoint a financial agent and an auditor and then have the agent place the ad for you.
Seriously. That will be the law. That will be the only way one can spend money to say battery hen farming is wrong and should be stopped.
This will be a nightmare for newspapers. If someone wants to advertise a protest march in election year, the newspaper will need to check if the march is about a policy which is associated with a political party, and then get a statutory declaration from you or seek proof you are registered and that this person is your financial agent.
And imagine the nightmare for the Chief Electoral Officer, the Electoral Commission, the Police and Judges. They are all going to have to decide what is or is not a “position on a proposition with which one or more parties is associated”.
I hope Dr Catt and Mr Peden are putting in budget bids for lots more staff. Maybe to provide certainty (and laws are meant to provide certainty) the Electoral Commission in election year could say daily update a list of policies or propositions we are not allowed to spend money on, without registering. Just as Sulla provided helpful lists in 81 BC.
By the way it applies to all parties, not just those in Parliament. If the nutters in AMBLA set up a pedophile rights party, then one could not advertise against pedophilia being legalised in an election year, without following the procedure above. Because that would be unfair to the pedophile rights party. Never mind they are only 0.001% in the polls.
I’m sorry, I have to say this. I am trying to be restrained. But what retard dreamed up this bill. I mean seriously, having to register with the Government to advertise your opinion on a policy or proposition associated with a political party. Did no one at all in Cabinet read the bill?