Helen Clark is probably correct when she says that the Auditor General’s ruling ‘held implications for $350 million in election funding spent in the past by political parties.’ Clark’s figure no doubt takes into account unlawful spending going back to the 1989-90 financial year, when the Fourth Labour Government implemented much greater parliamentary funding for the parties. Of this £350m, probably about $100m of it involves National Party spending – not just the $10,000. So I agree with National’s critics who say that if the party was serious about adhering to the funding rules, as it claims, then it should be repaying millions instead of the pittance that it has. It would have to confess back into the 1980s. As The Press says, the test for National will be how readily it repays any wrongful campaign spending from previous elections. There is no reason that the new ruling should not apply to previous years as well.
It is clear that the recent Auditor General’s report has huge implications. Most parliamentary money spent by political parties on communications has been deemed inappropriate. This is the same conclusion that my PhD found – see chapter Seven of my PhD at www.nzpolitics.co.nz