Labour pulls websites to avoid electoral law breach

Last updated 23:26 27/05/2008

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Labour election candidate websites may be the latest victim of the Electoral Finance Act.

Candidates are being told it might be safer to pull them down than risk breaching the law.

A Labour Party spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that MPs and election candidates had been advised that all websites and electioneering material had to pass through party bosses for vetting to avoid breaking the act.

Blogger and Electoral Finance Act opponent David Farrer yesterday listed websites including Young Labour, Rainbow Labour and MP and candidate websites he said had been shut down on the orders of Labour's head office.

In Parliament yesterday, National's Bill English suggested that government departments may have breached the law whenever they issued a statement.

Ministerial Services, which employs ministers' press secretaries, includes the term "Labour-led Government" on media releases on the Beehive website.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen said at the weekend that the term "Labour-led" was excised from press releases accompanying last week's Budget.

- Staff reporter, NZPA

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