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United Future supports Electoral Finance Bill

Althought both Peter Dunne and Judy Turner voted with the Government today on the SOP which will mean that most political advocacy over the Internet must have a name and address tagged to it during election year, Peter Dunne effectively told me that the bill does not inhibit the right to free speech. To Dunne, free speech has to be regulated,and participants outed - particularly over the Internet. Dunne's other issue is the spending limits and everything else to him appears irrelevant. In other words he is voting on certain clauses on the bill - and everything else in the bill, including the bits he doesnt appear to understand is irrelevant to him. He has nothing to say to those people who are not going to spend anywhere near the limit in political advocacy apart from " I want to know who you are."

This, today, on the United Future website from Dunne, who was on the select committee.

The premise on which the Bill is based is actually that while everyone or group has an absolute right to express their political views... the voting public has a right to know who they are

In other words, if I publicly hold a political position in election year, United Future, Labour and the Greens thinks the public has a legal right to know who I am and where I live if I publicly promote my political views pretty much in any way other than my blog or through the media. If this blog was a commercial blog I`d have to advise you all my address as well as my surname - as I would also have to do if I was using a useNet site. In fact, if I was holding a placard in a protest Dunne would also think I should have to put my name and address on that, because the select committee which he was part of recommended that. So I am off to buy some invisible ink for next year.

On the other hand I dont even think Judy Turner - the other United Future MP - has even read the bill, let alone the select committee report and probably doesn`t even know what she is voting for. However I have more respect for Dunne than for Chris Carter - he has been asking his staff to send Annette Kings Dominion Post article on the EFB by return e-mail to anyone who writes to his office regarding the EFB.