Urgent Debates Declined — Election Expenses—Decision on Prosecution

I have received a letter from the Leader of the Opposition seeking to debate under Standing Order 380 a decision by the New Zealand Police not to prosecute in relation to complaints it received that arose out of the 2005 general election. The decision of the Police is a particular case of recent occurrence, but I do not accept that it involves the administrative or ministerial responsibility of the Government. Under our system of Government, decisions on whether to initiate a police prosecution are made independently of the Minister. That has been the case for many years. I have to say that even if there had been ministerial responsibility, I do not believe that this matter would require the attention of the House by way of an urgent debate today. It is known that the subject matter of the complaints will be available for examination as part of the regular post-election review by the Justice and Electoral Committee. The substantive issues relating to the electoral law can be pursued there. This application is declined.