The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) says it will continue to campaign in the run-up to the election no matter what the outcome of the legal battle over its status under the Electoral Finance Act.
National last month lodged an application for a judicial review of the Electoral Commission's decision to register the union as a third party, meaning it can take part in the election campaign and spend up to $120,000.
The listing of the registration was due to take effect last Friday, but it has been suspended so the High Court in Wellington can hear the application on August 25.
EPMU national secretary Andrew Little said today that National was trying to shut down his members' voice during the election campaign.
No matter what happened in the court there would be no changes to what the union planned to do during election year.
"No one's claimed we are in breach of the law and we don't think we are. We are continuing as we planned to do at the beginning of the year anyway," Mr Little told NZPA.
The campaign was focused on workers' rights The EPMU would not return to court for the latest round in its bid to be registered.
"The union will not be wasting any more time or resources on National's legal challenges." Mr Little said the union was a third party and it was the commission's decision that was being reviewed.
All the information that was needed had been provided by the union earlier in the process and it was up to the commission to argue the case.
"They have the correspondence and all the information they could possibly need and the commission can foot the argument this time."
National has previously tried to reverse the commission's decision to register the union, arguing it was so closely linked to the Labour Party that it should not be able to campaign in its own right under the Electoral Finance Act.
