Auckland licensing trusts questioned about use of public money during elections

Friday, 24 July 2020

Two Auckland licensing trusts have been asked to prove that trust monies were not spent to promote its monopoly during last year’s local body elections.

The Waitākere and Portage Licensing Trusts, collectively known as The Trusts in West Auckland, faced the Justice Select Committee on Thursday in an inquiry into the liquor licensing trust elections.

West Auckland Licensing Trust Action Group’s Nick Smale highlighted the group’s concerns about The Trusts’ influence in the 2019 October elections in his submission to the committee.

The action group has been challenging The Trusts’ alcohol monopoly and had six candidates stand in the elections. Two were voted in.

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Smale said The Trusts stepped over the line in the elections and used its resources to advertise and promote the monopoly and influence voters.

He agreed The Trusts, because it ran bottle shops and bars, should be able to promote these businesses freely and communicate with the community freely, including during the pre-election period.

“It’s a matter of judgment whether any communication is okay, whether it steps over a line, such that it’s likely to influence voters in a way that will undermine the fairness of an election,” he said.

“In our opinion, the West Auckland licensing trusts very clearly stepped over that line in the elections last year, and no doubt they will argue that is not the case.”

He claimed four months before the elections, between July to October, the Trusts made 240 posts on its social media page, compared to four months prior, from March to June, with only 48 posts.

Four months after the elections, during the busy Christmas period, Smale said The Trusts made 157 posts.

He could not prove whether the posts were sponsored.

When asked by committee member Dr Nick Smith if The Trusts used trust money during the elections to promote the monopoly or current trustees, Waitākere Licensing Trust president Linda Cooper said no.

She said there was no advertising naming any trustees.

She said advertising peaked during elections because of The Trusts’ million-dollar fund campaign and for operational content.

Smith asked The Trusts to present the content of all social media posts and funding spent on them, 12 months prior to elections, to allow the committee to make a judgment, which Cooper agreed to do.

“Nobody said, nothing was ever said that you should vote for the Trusts, because it wasn’t about… the thing is, an election isn’t about voting for or against the Trust, it’s about electing representatives which is different for a referendum,” Cooper said.