Following on from the latest party finance scandal, the Labour Party is once again pushing the idea of *direct* state funding of political parties. It should be clear that this isn't necessarily an attempt to get additional money - although it probably involves that too - but really just a response to the solicitor-general's legal opinion that puts all the parties access to millions of dollars of parliamentary funding at risk. What people normally fail to realise is that there is already a substantial system of state funding of political parties (through parliamentary resources), and that Labour's proposal is to establish a more direct form of state funding. In particular, Labour Party president Mike Williams has indicated his preference for adopting Australia's state funding model. For my own PhD argument against state funding, go to http://www.nzpolitics.co.nz/ and read 'Chapter Eight: State Resourcing of Parties'. Also see David Farrar's comment (and discussion) on this today, entitled Legalised Theft.