Report at Radio NZ.

The NZ Herald reports:
The Electoral Finance Act has claimed its first scalp after a 21-year-old was obliged to take down his website when the Electoral Commission said it breached election rules by not including his name and address.
Andrew Moore, 21, set up the anti-Labour Party dontvotelabour.org.nz website this month but the commission contacted him soon […]

After months of controversy and heated opposition, the Electoral Finance Bill passed into law today. The provisions according to the summary at the NZ Herald are:
Any group or person wishing to campaign for or against a particular candidate or political party, or policies held by a party, will fall under the third-parties regime…
…will have to […]

National delayed the third reading of the proposed reform in New Zealand. Had it been considered, Parliament would be done for the session. The delay may give National other political advantages, as they can attack the government on other matters. But it seems to set the stage for the final showdown on the bill before recess.  

Today the print edition of the New Zealand Herald carried a rare front page editorial against the far-reaching Electoral Finance Bill which restricts public advocacy and campaigning in an election year.
The editorial begins:
When is the Government going to get this message: democracy is not a device to keep the Labour Party in power.
As I’ve covered […]

Many organizations (including “the country’s largest union, the PSA“, the Human Rights Commission, two teachers unions, and The Law Society) have criticized the still-lingering reforms in New Zealand, arguing in particular that the limitations on third-party spending are too tough and stifle free speech. The major components of the bill are summarized by the NZ […]

The government has tabled the reform they introduced after loud complaints about the restrictions on third party campaigning, which was really the bulk of what was left in the already “watered down” proposal, Stuff.co reports.
An outcry has followed Labour’s tabling of the bill in Parliament, after lobby groups and unions realised that they would be […]

The NZ Herald writes that the maintanence of high thresholds for anonymous donations ($10,000) is unjustified, and provides little gain to donors, that the limits on spending benefit Labour, and that third parties or independent entities are losers in restrictions on their expenditures:
The bill aims to control election finance through limits on permissible spending rather […]

The Ministry of Justice has released a press statement about a reform bill introduced to parliament, which is available at the Scoop. It contains:
A key area for reform will be election expenses. There will also be much stricter rules on the involvement of third parties in election campaigns.
The Bill also introduces more stringent rules for […]

The NZHerald writes:
Prime Minister Helen Clark has conceded that Labour does not have enough support to secure the state funding of political parties as part of its electoral reforms.
She said last night that “at this time it would not appear that support is there to advance that particular option”.
However, Labour may have enough clout to push […]

Proposed reforms looks like they will go ahead without state funding of parties in New Zealand. From The Dominion Post:
Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen admitted yesterday that the plan for state-funding did not have the numbers to proceed.
“I’m quite sure we will have support for some quite major reforms to election spending but it doesn’t […]

A press release from a ”reactivated” group dedicated to campaign finance reform in New Zealand writes:  
The reactivated Coalition for Open Government was launched today, across the road from Parliament, to press for strong new election finance laws. Spokesperson Steven Price said New Zealand’s current election finance rules are some of the worst in the developed […]