Hubbard to look again at 'hatchet job' leaflets

Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard is taking fresh legal advice on whether former mayor John Banks' campaign manager, Brian Nicolle, broke the law by distributing the "hatchet job" newspaper articles about Mr Hubbard during the local body elections.

The return of electoral expenses and donations shows Mr Banks did not claim any expenses for Mr Nicolle or the distribution of the National Business Review articles.

An earlier complaint by Mr Hubbard that Mr Nicolle broke the Local Electoral Act by sending out unauthorised material designed to denigrate him and increase Mr Banks' re-election chances was rejected by police for lack of evidence.

Mr Nicolle resigned during the campaign as Mr Banks' campaign manager after admitting he was the person who "facilitated the distribution" of the articles, which Mr Hubbard labelled a "hatchet job".

Mr Hubbard said he had been waiting for Mr Banks to lodge the return of his election expenses to obtain new legal advice from his lawyer, Grant Illingworth, QC.

"We have got evidence that the NBR articles were distributed and anecdotal evidence that money was passed over in cash. I will talk to my legal advisers this week," Mr Hubbard said.

The act says "no person may publish or cause to be published" election material to promote a candidate unless it is authorised in writing by the candidate or the candidate's agent.

Offenders could face two years in jail or a fine of up to $10,000.

 

Mr Banks, who repeatedly said he knew nothing about the reprinting and distribution of the articles, would not say yesterday why his election expenses return contained no payment for Mr Nicolle.

The bulk of his expenses, totalling $65,940, were for billboards and the printing and distribution of campaign material.

Mr Banks said his election expenses were signed off by an accountant and he had legal advice that "we have discharged our obligations pursuant to the act".

The act said election expenses "means expenses that are incurred by or on behalf of the candidate in respect of any electoral activity".

Mr Banks' return showed that he received 24 anonymous campaign donations of more than $1000 each, totalling $219,495, when the spending limit for mayoral candidates was $70,000.

Most of the spare $155,000 was used to fund other political parties and individual candidates, who he would not name.

A small surplus would go towards "my next campaign", Mr Banks said.

By comparison, Mr Hubbard, the multi-millionaire owner of Hubbard Foods, funded his own campaign costs of $55,018, except for one anonymous donation of $100.

Most of his expenses went into newspaper advertising but he also paid $5383 for strategic and public relations advice from Belinda Abernethy, who has gone on to become his mayoral communications adviser.

 

SPENDING, DONATIONS

John Banks - expenses $65,940, donations $219,495.

Christine Fletcher - expenses $64,330, donations $57,000.

Dick Hubbard - expenses $55,018, donations $100.