No Right Turn is a hypocrite

Blogger Idiot Savant is a hypocrite. Today, anyway. He normally runs a pretty good blog but today he`s let himself down somewhat.

When the government passed the Electoral Finance Act, the right screamed that it was an assault on free speech. Now they're trying to use it to shut down the stage version of The Hollow Men. Ostensibly, this is being done to "clarify the law". In reality, it is being done in an effort to silence speech they do not like. Despite all their screaming and all their posturing, when it comes to freedom of speech, the right are simply hypocrites.

National is clearly not shutting down speech they do not like and it is noteworthy that I/S did not mention this:

[Stephen] Franks said he had not seen The Hollow Men, but was in favour of it being staged without restriction.It would be appalling for that to be banned"

I/S has rightly criticised the NZ Herald for omitting relevant information in an article on the EFA, yet on the same day he does it himself. Pot, kettle,black. He needs reminding why the Electoral Finance Act was passed by the Government in the first place: to silence speech they don't like. I/S has rightly criticised Electoral authorities' interpretions of the Act, but when National MPs seek clarification of the law he says they are shutting down free speech.

When it comes to freedom of speech, the left are far more hyprocritical than the right and its about time Idiot/Savant understood and admitted that.

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Labour wants to get around the law by asking others to break it on its behalf

The Labour Party Headquarters has today advised me how I can break the law. I can get some government brochures and campaign with them.

Mike Williams, at a secret meeting behind doors at this weekend's Labour Party conference, told delegates to distribute pamphlets on KiwiSaver and Working for Families produced by Government departments to influence people in not voting National by telling them that National will scrap WFF and Kiwisaver even though it wont. Bad strategy.

As William's purpose in asking for the pamphlet distribution is to be reasonably regarded as encouraging voters to support a candidate or party, that is elelction advertising and counts in Labours spending cap, whether the purpose of such brochures are election advertising or not.

(Update: as No Right Turn has noted, Government Departments are barred from publishing - or promoting - election advertisements).

But although Helen Clark said she would advise her MPs and their staff not to hand out the materials in a campaigning way - she appears quite happy for Labour HQ to advise me - and presumably other members of the public - to do it.

In orther words, get her foot soldiers and unions to do the dirty campaigning and break the law for her instead - in work time, too, while not declaring the cost of the distributed material.

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