On 23 May 2008 a complaint was lodged with the Electoral Officer of the Christchurch City Council alleging Councillor David Cox had breached the Electoral Act 2001 in that he had filed a false return and exceeded the maximum allowable expenditure during his election campaign.
The complaint was forwarded to Police for investigation. That investigation has now been completed. Electoral candidates are entitled to spend up to a maximum of $30,000.00 during their campaign. The investigation established additional undeclared spending of $1,460.21 however total spending did not exceed the $30,000.00 threshold. The failure to declare the additional spending was explainable and not a criminal act.
Police are satisfied that the matter has now been addressed fully and this has been reported back to the Chief Electoral Officer at the Christchurch City Council.
Detective Senior SergeantGrant Wormald