Online protest at election spending

An online petition protesting against the validation of unlawful election spending has now won the support of more than 26,000 people.

The petition, started by National Party member Blair Mulholland, calls the legislation an attack on democracy and asks Governor-General Anand Satyanand to withhold the royal assent.

The retrospective legislation was rushed through Parliament on Wednesday night after Auditor-General Kevin Brady's much-awaited report into the use of taxpayer funds for the 2005 election.