State funding for political parties?

Press, 9 December 1988, Page 4

State funding for political parties?

State funding of political parties has been recommended by the Government representatives on Parliament’s Electoral Law Committee.

This recommendation is opposed by the National Opposition. Mr Doug Graham (Nat., Remuera), a member of the committee, described the recommendation that the taxpayer “should front up with half a million dollars for the Labour Party machine” as scandalous.

The committee’s chairman, Mr Richard Northey (Lab., Eden), said there should be a system of State funding for registered political parties and independents. That would assist the researching, development and communication to electors of party policy, similar to the "levels recommended last year by the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform.

Help recommended by the Royal Commission had been at the level of

$1 a vote up to 20 per cent of the vote, and 50c a vote thereafter, with no money beyond 30 per cent of the vote. “This will be vital to assist minor parties to develop and communicate their policies,” Mr Northey said. He said he was not uncomfortable about the fact that Labour was the only one of the two main parties that supported State funding. “If the National Party accepts State funding it will get exactly the same as the Labour Party because both would reach the 30 per cent of the vote cap,” he said. Smaller parties would benefit even more because the 30 per cent cap would mean that they get more proportionately than the major parties.

But Mr Graham said National was opposed to taxpayer funding and believed a political party should stand or fall on the support it got on a voluntary basis.

“I suspect the Labour Party is now in desperate financial straits and without this injection of taxpayer funds would be seriously embarrassed,” he said, referring to the submission from the Labour Party to the Electoral Law Committee calling for State funding.

“In such circumstances, it is grossly improper to help themselves to taxpayer money. “National intends to repeal this unprincipled proposal if, as seems likely, it becomes the law,” Mr Graham said. .

He said the public would be very angry with this development because people were not stupid and could see through it. Mr Northey said the report would go to the Government for consideration and it, hopefully along these lines, would introduce an Electoral Bill to Parliament — maybe in March next year.