Central Leader

 

Councillor’s election challenged

By Phil Tayor

A legal challenge to some Auckland City local body election results has been filed at Auckland Court.
 The petition for inquiry has been lodged by members of The Water Pressure Group, seeking to convince the three newly-elected councillors are void.
 Counsel representing the Water Pressure Group, Auckland lawyer Graeme Minchin, filed the petition on November 9.
 Auckland District Court officer Steve McHugh says a hearing must be held within 14 days of the receipt. It’s likely that a judge will hear Mr Minchin’s
 Mr Minchin’s challenge is on the grounds that during the election campaign some of the candidates publicly endorsed one water-wastewater and storm water disposal policy stance.
 He is alleging the same candidates were privately advocating future privatisation of water and stormwater activities.
 Mr Minchin is citing sections of the Local Electoral Act of 2000.
 In the petition, he quotes section 127 “Every person commits the offence of undue influence … who by any fraudulent device or means … induces… any elector… to vote”
 Mr McHugh says the judge allocate to the hearing will decide how it will be conducted, and/or whether any other people will be asked to make reprasentations.
 He adds the Electoral Act is well equipped to cover all aspects of this case.
 However a lack of precendent is apparent. Although there have been challenges to the validity of results in past New Zealand general elections, it’s understood that a petition of this kind has never been filed for a local body poll.
 Mr Minchin says he’s interested in talking the case because he feels politicians should be held accountable for what they say durring a campain, and how they act once voted into public office.
 ‘It’s just a case that politicans should be more accountable to voters in New Zealand” he says.
 “It encourages politcians to be more honest and deters them particularly from saying one thing and doing another”
 
 

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