New Zealand First is in trouble with the law after a complaint was made to the Electoral Commission about unauthorised party banners.
Police have been called in to investigate two banners that were displayed on a Tauranga house which were said to be in breach of the Electoral Finance Act. But the Greens have managed to dodge legal action over a similar issue.
All political party ads must carry the promoter's name and address of either the party's financial agent or the person who put them up. However those erected on a derelict Tauranga house did not, causing Winston Peters' party to be caught out by the controversial act it supported.
"It is an irony, it is embarrassing frankly," New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said. "The person who put it up did it without authority by the sound of it. But let's find out what happened. We're not going to send them off to Siberia, but they should not have done it."
3 News found the enthusiastic supporter is Thomas Gear - one of Peters' oldest and most trusted supporters.
The complaint came from National's Bill English who has made it his business to expose breaches of the act.
"The problem here is that we're all going to need lawyers in the run up to the election, almost as importantly as we need policies," Bill English said.
The Green Party also came under the microscope, with a complaint that it posted unauthorised posters in Auckland. But the party insists they were tampered with and the authorisation cut off.
But Blair Mulholland, the Act Party candidate and blogger who made the complaint, says the Greens are not telling the full story.
"The Greens are hypocrites if they think they can vote for a law and not follow it and lie about it afterwards to cover their tracks," Blair Mulholland said.
The Electoral Commission found it to be above board. It says the authorisation was simply obscured.
However, New Zealand First is not off the hook and will have to answer to police. It is frustrating for the party, whose senior adviser warned supporters to get advice before doing anything like this, so it could stay within the law.
3 News