ACT forces Electoral Commission to remove link to pro-Māori Wards messaging

ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton is welcoming the Electoral Commission’s decision to remove a partisan link from its website after pressure from ACT, but says questions remain about why it was ever there, and why public concerns were brushed off until after voting had already begun.

Luxton wrote to the Auditor-General on Monday about this issue, and has raised concerns via ACT's social media channels.

“The Electoral Commission has finally done the right thing by removing the link on it’s official website to one run by lobby group Local Government New Zealand’s (LGNZ) that promotes pro-Māori wards messages. But it should never have been there in the first place,” says Mr Luxton.

“LGNZ is a political lobby group that campaigns on political issues, including against the public’s right to have a say on Māori wards.

“The LGNZ page wasn’t neutral information. It argued in favour of Māori wards, saying: ‘Establishing Māori wards and constituencies provides an inclusive and democratic avenue for councils to collaborate with Māori, fostering positive relationships and ensuring decisions benefit the entire community.’ That is a political judgment, not a factual explanation. Others can make those arguments if they wish, but it is not the role of the Electoral Commission to do so, directly or by proxy.

“Worse, the LGNZ page uses colours and branding similar to the Commission’s own, and its domain name votelocal.co.nz closely resembles the Commission’s vote.nz. Voters clicking through from the Commission’s website could easily be forgiven for thinking they’re still on the official Electoral Commission page.

“What’s most concerning is that a member of the public raised this issue with the Commission before voting opened – and was dismissed. The Commission said it wasn’t responsible for the content of other websites, missing the obvious point that it was choosing to link to partisan material. Those concerns were left unanswered for weeks while voting was already underway.

“This raises serious questions. Why did it take outside pressure for the Commission to act? Why were earlier warnings ignored? How did such a basic breach of neutrality happen in the first place?

“That’s why I’ve called on the Auditor-General not only to review the Commission’s actions, but to conduct a wider inquiry to ensure this can never happen again.

“The integrity of our democracy depends on an impartial referee. The Commission must be beyond reproach – and right now, the public needs assurance that this was a one-off mistake, not a sign of deeper problems.”

Notes to editors:

Prior to the change, this page on the electoral commission website linked to this page on a website hosted by LGNZ.

Cameron Luxton's letter to the Auditor-General can be read here.

Screenshots of the link from the Electoral Commission site to the LGNZ site can be seen here.

Correspondence between a member of the public and the Electoral Commission about this issue prior to voting opening can be read here.

A video of Cameron showing the website is here.