corruption by providing greater transparency and accountability on the part of
parties, candidates and “other persons engaged in election activities”.51
[51]
This second concern was not limited to those who spend substantial sums on
advertising. There is no floor on expenditure below which a person who instigates
or initiates an election advertisement is not a promoter. Put another way, a person
can be a promoter without spending any money at all on advertising expenses. There
is no room for an assumption that election advertisements always involve
expenditure as defined in s 3E. In the 2010 amendments the legislature took care to
extend the legislation to electronic media, excluding only the dissemination of
personal political views, and it must be taken to have appreciated that, as the video
illustrates, a brochure or other publication can be put together and disseminated
electronically to a mass audience without incurring any direct costs of preparation,
design and publication. For this reason we do not think that the term election
advertisement can be restricted to paid advertisements.
[52]
Third, if interpreted liberally the definitions of promoter — anyone who
initiates an election advertisement to be published — and publish — bring to the
notice of a person in any manner — together mean that the disclosure and
accounting obligations of a promoter may attach to a great deal of political discourse
among citizens via electronic and other media. It may be that, as the Commission
contends, the obligations of a promoter are not especially onerous, but that is true
only for those in the promotion business. We share Clifford J’s opinion that for
anyone else these obligations may well have a chilling effect that cannot be justified
by the legislative objectives.52
Effect
[53]
The legislation seeks to limit over-inclusiveness in a number of
complementary ways. The first is effect. We have mentioned that an election
advertisement must be reasonably regarded as encouraging voters to vote, or not to
vote, for a type of candidate or party by reference to views or positions adopted or
not adopted. We observe that:
51
52
Electoral Finance Act, s 3.
High Court judgment, above n 1, at [167].