The Ministry of Justice has released its issues paper [PDF] on election funding. Its well worth a read. The paper is part of a broader consultation process on electoral finance reform, and submissions on it could conceivably help shape the law (alternatively, National and ACT could already have decided what they are going to do, and use their easy majority to bulldoze through an illegitimate system which gives power to the rich and turns our democracy into a sham). There will be a series of public consultation meetings next month, and submissions are due by 26 June.
This is too important an issue to leave in the hands of self-interested party hacks and wannabe plutocrats. If we want a fair and transparent electoral system which allows all of us to have a say and ensures that our voices count equally rather than being drowned out by the rich few, we need to speak up about it, and loudly.
