Govt to tighten local body election rules

The Government is going to tighten the rules governing local body elections.

Local Government Minister David Carter has announced provisions of the Local Electoral Act around campaign donations and declarations of donations will be strengthened.

He says it's about providing more clarity.

"We have made a number of changes to the legislation under which central Government politicians must comply. It was timely therefore to have a look at the reasonable-ness of the rules."

John Banks is throwing his weight behind the moves.

The ACT leader was the centre of a scandal earlier this year over donations he received for his 2010 Auckland mayoralty campaign.

Mr Banks says the current law has been ridiculed by lawyers as unclear, unfair, unworkable, and changes are well overdue.

"As Charles Dickens said in 1838, the law is an ass, and it's important that the Government cleans it up. No candidate for public office should go through what I had to go through."

Anonymous donations are to be capped at $1500 and any excess over this amount will have to be handed over to an electoral officer.

Also to be changed is the definition of anonymous, it's to be expanded to include situations where a candidate couldn't reasonably know the donor.

Photo: David Carter (NZ Herald)