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(b) (c) (A) a statement indicating that the advertisement has been authorised by that officer or agency; or (B) a symbol indicating that the advertisement has been authorised by that officer or agency: contact information (as defined in subsection (3)) published in any medium by a member of Parliament that satisfies all of the following requirements: (i) the information was published by a member of Parliament in the course of performing his or her role and functions as a member of Parliament; and (ii) the information was prepared for publication and published by the member of Parliament using funding received under Vote Parliamentary Service; and (iii) the information was routinely published in that medium before the commencement of the regulated period and continues to be published in that medium during the regulated period; and (iv) the information is published during the regulated period no more often and to no greater extent than before the commencement of the regulated period; and (v) the information is published during the regulated period in the same form and style as before the commencement of the regulated period; and (vi) the information is not included, combined, or associated with an election advertisement (as defined in subsection (1)), or with any other information so as to constitute an election advertisement, that is published by— (A) the member of Parliament; or (B) the secretary of the party to which the member of Parliament belongs; or (C) any other person with the authority of the member of Parliament: the editorial content of— (i) a periodical: (ii) a radio or television programme:

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Electoral Commission v. Watson

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the video and song Planet Key are considered election advertisements and/or election programs.

Alleged Acts: Planet Key is an satirical song and video that was intended to be broadcast during the 2014 Election. The video included commentary on the Prime Minister’s upbringing, early careers, and relationships. The video also included a message note to vote for Mr. Key “if they wanted compassion.” Watson and Jones, the creators of the song and video were not affiliated with any political group and paid all expenses. Watson and Jones sent out the video within the three-month regulated period surrounding the 2014 elections. The Electoral Commission intervened in its broadcasting because the classified the song and video as an “election program” under the Broadcasting Act.

Procedural history: The Commission produced an advisory opinion stating that the broadcast was an election program because it was reasonably considered to encourage voters not to vote for Mr. Key or his political party. Further, the broadcast was considered an election advertisement under the election act because it was avaliable for public download even though it was the individual political views of Watson and Jones. Thus, Watson was required to include a promoter statement in order to comply with the Electoral Act. Watson alleged that his individual political rights were limited because he was not able to publish the song.

Summary: The first considered that the creators of the video and song were not themselves campaigners under the definition of election advertisements. They were only expressing individual political rights. The costs to create the song and video were less than eight hundred dollars, so even if theses were advertising expenses, they were not substantial. Further, the court considered that the material denigrated Mr. Key but did not encourage voting implicitly or explicitly. Thus, any impact would be too indirect to actionable by the court. The song and video had a clear entertainment value rather than factual accuracy. The court considered that video and song were never dispensed through a broadcaster, but through an politics based radio program — except after the Commission’s intervention. Thus, the court could not determine whether the video would surmount to advocacy because the context was not permitted to take place (i.e. balancing with other opinions). The video is not an election program, but rather an election comment because it was offered by individuals that were not candidates or political representation.

Conclusion: The song and video are not election programs or election advertisement. Thus, the appeal is dismissed.

Legal Issue(s)

Social Media

Applicable Law(s): Electoral Act; Broadcasting Act

Region: Asia-Pacific

Country: New Zealand

Language of Decision

English

Court: Appellate Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Oct 20, 2016

Geolocation

Latitude: -41.263917612080235

Longitude: 174.77498988598148

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

Electoral Commission v. Watson.pdf
English
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Election Judgments - IFES

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Electoral Commission v. Watson

Primary Documents

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