Greens oppose electoral finance loophole

John Key’s Government will allow third parties to spend as much as they like on election campaigns under electoral finance legislation to be debated today, the Green Party said.

“We will oppose this Bill because it doesn’t provide a level playing field for democracy in New Zealand,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“An election should be a contest of ideas, not a contest of who has the most money.

“Our democracy should not be up for sale to the highest bidder. Spending caps are fair – and they help promote honest politics in our democracy.

“We do not want to end up like the US where ridiculous amounts of money are spent in election campaigns, and lobby groups can buy influence.

“The Bill will rightly limit political party spending to help provide a level playing field – it doesn’t make sense not to also limit third party spending. The lack of a third party cap creates a massive loophole,” said Mrs Turei.


For more information
Report of The Royal Commission on the Electoral System 1986 -http://www.elections.org.nz/voting/mmp/royal-commission-report-1986.html