Trans Tasman’s annual roll call says this about David Cunliffe:
Due to changes in Labour’s rules managed to pull off the unthinkable and become leader despite many in the caucus not wanting him. He is clever, articulate and a good communicator. Has the potential to be the next PM, but he will only get the one shot. Caucus has no choice but to get behind him. The great fear is he could still be an accident waiting to happen.
An accident has already happened.
Labour leader David Cunliffe might have fallen foul of the law with a message posted on his Twitter profile on the day of the Christchurch East by-election.
The Electoral Commission is looking into the tweet by Cunliffe on Saturday urging Christchurch East residents to get out and vote for the successful Labour candidate Poto Williams.
“If you are resident in Christchurch East don’t forget to vote today – for Labour and Poto Williams!” he wrote.
Under Electoral Commission rules, no campaigning of any kind is allowed on election day.
The message has since been deleted. Cunliffe yesterday took responsibility for the tweet, saying it was sent in error but was reluctant to explain how. It was “deleted within seconds”.
He said he was not aware of the rules at the time it was sent. He would co-operate with the Electoral Commission if it investigated. . .
It defies belief that a seasoned MP could not be aware of the rules, which aren’t just rules, they are electoral law.
In the National Party the law about what you can and can’t do on election day are drummed into everyone from the newest volunteer to the longest-serving MP. I have no doubt Labour takes the law equally seriously.
He might have forgotten, he might not have thought but ignorance is no defence.
Keeping Stock noticed the tweet and responded:
https://twitter.com/Inventory2/status/406506021473878017
Whether or not that prompted the deletion of the tweet, it disappeared very quickly.
The Electoral Commission is unlikely to do anything about this given the fleeting appearance of the tweet.
But it does show a lamentable lack of attention to detail on Cunliffe’s part.
That is not not an asset in an aspiring Prime Minister and confirms Trans Tasman’s view of him as an accident waiting to happen.
Homepaddock 
Minor issue – But still an issue.
Questions – is it a punishable issue? Should it be? If nothing happens are many politicians going to have “accidents”
I don’t know. Thinking out loud I reckon the embarrassment of a mistake is enough punishment.
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The bigger issue is his “I didn’t know” excuse. If he doesn’t know the most basic piece of election law after 14 years in Parliament, is he the right person to aspire to lead New Zealand. Or is his claimed lack of awareness of the law an honest statement?
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Then the court of public opinion kicks in.
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Neither not knowing nor saying he didn’t know when he ought to have reflect well on him.
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yep .. he should have manned up and admitted it was a mistake
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Given Cunliffe’s position and long experience over several elections this was very deliberate. There can be no other explanation. He says it was a draft message. This message could not be sent on election morning – there was no reason for anyone to draft it and everyone on his campaign would know the rules of no electioneering on polling day as they were working on Friday night taking down the hoardings.
Cunliffe knew the risks and figured it was worth taking – he gambled the Electoral Commission would take no action after the fact and as it was Twitter he knew it once it was out there the message was free and available to be retweeted or screen capped and put on websites – job done.
At its most simplest it is an abuse of position. As Leader of the Opposition he figures the EC will not ask the Police to prosecute what he will describe as a minor and momentary lapse.
In countries where the democratic process is taken seriously, like the US, this would be a major issue and rightly so. It’s not the size of the fault it’s the fact of action taken.
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There is no excuse, period.
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