The Prime Minister's Hour: The Intersection of Freedom of Speech and Electoral Broadcasting

Abstract

The Prime Minister's Hour, broadcast on RadioLive two months before the 2011 election caused controversy and contrary decisions from the Electoral Commission and the Broadcasting Standards Authority on whether it breached the Broadcasting Act 1989. This paper asseses both decisions, and finds the Electoral Commission decision correct. It then assesses the restrictions on electoral broadcasting in the Broadcasting Act against the Bill of Rights Act 1990, using the test in R v Hansen, and finds the limitations are consistent with the Bill of Rights.