Claim struck out
The District Court has struck out a Notice of Claim against Election Services Limited and the Whakatāne District Council and awarded an order of costs against the claimant of $1,618.50.
“The Electoral Act plainly provides an entirely exclusionary scheme preventing this sort of claim. I accept the submissions that the accused has no special standing in these proceedings, cannot satisfy the Court he has a statutory duty owed to him, and it is certainly not in the public interest to go beyond the scheme which has been established for dealing with what are political matters,” Judge Thomas states. “He has not lost any democratic rights because of course he can vote in the next election. It follows therefore that the Court on a consideration of all material before it comes to the view that this claim does not disclose any reasonable cause of action. The proceeding is frivolous and vexatious, and further, an abuse of the process of the Court.”
The strike-out application was lodged for the Council by its legal representatives, Brookfields Lawyers, but for procedural reasons, was made on behalf of both defendants. Had that approach not been taken, the claim would have remained ‘alive’, which could have required further Court time and unnecessary expense for all parties.
WDC General Manager Strategy and Planning, David Bewley, says the joint application did not result in any additional cost for the Council. “With the next local government elections only 12 months away, it’s to be hoped that this matter will now be put to rest and any judgement left to the electorate,” he says.