Parliament's Speaker is expected to make a ruling on the status of the United Future Party's parliamentary funding next week.
Peter Dunne believes United Future is being penalised for being honest. Photo: RNZ
United Future leader Peter Dunne on Wednesday failed to get the Electoral Commission to bend the rules to allow the party to get registered promptly.
On 31 May, the party asked that it be de-registered because it could not declare that it had the 500 members required.
Getting registered again could take at least two months, once the commission checks the details of the members.
United Future stands to have $186,000 in annual parliamentary funding docked if Parliament's Speaker David Carter decides it should lose its status as a party.
Peter Dunne updated Mr Carter on Thursday on what is happening with the re-registration and said the Speaker is seeking advice on the matter.
Earlier, Mr Dunne told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme he believes United Future is being penalised for its honesty. He said the situation had arisen only because they put their hands up and said they were having difficulty verifying members, rather than just signing the usual statutory declaration form.
