I avoid blogging about politics. Period. I got it out of my system 30 years ago.
So one small lapse then. Today's announcement that New Zealand is going to the polls on 8th November is fairly underwhelming. Unless you live in Tauranga.
My good friend, Anne Pankhurst, is standing for the Labour Party. Simon Bridges, who I have met a couple of time now and looks like the smart bet for the Beehive, is standing for the National Party. And Winston Peters, the man that says 'No', is standing for NZ First, Foremost & Finally. It promises to be a good old electoral fight in the best Bob v Winston tradition. Sadly though, I can say no more.
Under the Electoral Finance Act 2007, any attempt to influence voters with a personal opinion is deemed illegal; at least without the prior written permission of the Electoral Commission. So my two local blog regulars will have to do without my take on public flogging, compulsory road testing for the over 80's and the forced removal of domestic cats from Bellevue. It might just be deemed that I am advocating reasonable positions which could swing marginal votes. That's not legal. And I want to avoid being sent to jail.
So that's it. 30 years after giving up active Tory politics n the UK, I end up in North Korea. Sorry....North Island. Democracy here is quite literally 'downunder'.
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2 comments:
"Under the Electoral Finance Act 2007, any attempt to influence voters with a personal opinion is deemed illegal; at least without the prior written permission of the Electoral Commission."
I'm sorry, but I didn't spot that in the Electoral Finance Act. Can you point me to the sections where it says you have to get such permission to hold an opinion?
Beth.
Any luck with finding the reference to back up your view? I didnt think so. Hey, I can understand people being shitty about the new law, and there is certainly aspects about it that I don't like. But coming out with statements suggesting the new law is banning free speech is just plain silly. The law doesn't restrict free speech at all; you can say what you like, when you like, to whomever you like. What the law does is place restrictions on the extent to which people and groups can spend up large to influence the election.
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