Shadbolt’s new ad

There was a variety of views on whether the ads run earlier in December by Tim Shadbolt would be caught by the Electoral Finance Act if run in 2008.

Well Tim has on his website an ad he is running tomorrow.  There can be no debate at all that such an ad would be illegal under the Electoral Finance Act once the cost of them has exceeded $12,000.  An extract:

Invercargill’s Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) is facing devastating, destructive, funding cuts of between $6.2 and 8 million.

This Government has ignored our pleas for mercy and therefore I believe I should have the right to advocate a change of Government.

I honestly believe that the National Party would be far more sensitive and encouraging towards successful, trade-based technical institutions that are providing quality education in this country.

Ironically, I have always been pro-Labour and won two elections as a Labour Party candidate for the Auckland Regional Authority.

However, in these elections I would urge my fellow New Zealanders not
to vote for the Labour Party.

Now Tim is running them on 31 December, not 1 January.  It will be interesting to see what he does run next year.  He says on the ad he refuses to register as a third party, so either he can only spend $12,000, has to run ads which don’t get caught by the law, or he has to shut up.  I’m not picking the third option.