The pro-amalgamation sign that was damaged last weekend.
The pro-amalgamation sign that was damaged last weekend.
A local lobby group breached the law by distributing unauthorised pamphlets at Hawke's Bay Today's Great Amalgamation Debate this week.
The pro-amalgamation group A Better Hawke's Bay (ABHB), admitted a batch of flyers had been printed without the legally required authorisation - a name and physical address - on them.
Chairman Rebecca Turner said she spoke to electoral officer Warwick Lampp about the breach on Wednesday.
"Yes, there was a batch that came out," Ms Turner said.
"As far as I know they have all been removed. We have had them redone and all will be 100 per cent correct."
According to the 1993 Electoral Act, a person may publish an election advertisement only if it includes a promoter statement.
"A promoter statement must state the name and address of the promoter of the election advertisement," section 204F of the Act reads.
Mr Lampp confirmed he had received a complaint about the flyer: "ABHB assure me that it was only handed out at the meeting and hadn't been distributed outside that meeting.
"As the content was forming the basis of their advertising they have assured me that all their other documents have their authorisation on it."
In accordance with the Act, he would investigate all complaints.
"And if I believe it to be a breach that warrants action then I should report it to the police," he said.
In this instance he had not referred it to the authorities.
The complaint was lodged by Mike Butler, from the Hastings Against Amalgamation (HAA) camp, in an email last Wednesday to the electoral officer. Mr Butler was himself pulled up for breaching the Act several weeks ago, for not having proper authorisation on the HAA website and Facebook page.
"Dear Warwick, since you required me to correct authorisations on our Hastings Against Amalgamation page and www.amalgamatehbno.com, I have complied," Mr Butler's email read.
"I have also had the correct authorisation printed on our flyers and am fielding the phone calls.
"However, I wish to point out and file a formal complaint that ABHB has left the authorisation off the DLE flyer distributed at the debate at the Napier Boys' High hall last night and presumably this flyer has been distributed around households.
"The attached flyer therefore is in breach of advertising guidelines for persons or groups other than local bodies distributing information after a final proposal for council reorganisation has been released."
In a follow-up phone call, Mr Butler said he saw the offending pamphlet at the Napier Boys' High hall, where the debate was held.
"It has got 'Vote Yes' on the front ... It should have, somewhere on it, it should have authorised by a name and an address and that was missing," he said.
"Warwick phoned me three or four weeks ago and pinged me for the website and the Facebook page requiring an authorising on that."
Mr Butler said for this reason he was careful, and the 26,000 flyers he had put out around Hastings included his name and address on them.
Meanwhile it seems that sign vandalism is a bipartisan act, with some anti-amalgamation campaigners also expressing their views in a non-verbal manner.
In an email received by this newspaper, pro-amalgamation campaigner Brian Mackie said he had already had one of his pro-reform signs stolen, and last Saturday night another was damaged.
"This sign is staying exactly as it is, because it provides a message about the culprits," he said.
