election funding
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End of the line for Peters
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, September 10th, 2008 - 152 comments
Winston Peters will be wondering why he has let his political legacy be destroyed by not simply declaring donations that came from legal sources and being open in his role in soliciting them. All those MPs and other hangers-on who have ridden on the coat-tails of one of New Zealand’s most successful politicians* must be […]
Political Funding – Have your say (eventually).
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 am, September 8th, 2008 - 8 comments
In 1993, the then National government reluctantly implemented the MMP system by putting in the Electoral Act 1993. This was an act that had some serious flaws, some of which were fixed in the Electoral Finance Act of 2008. One of the Electoral Act’s innovations appeared to be designed to make sure that the true […]
Granny beside herself as polls turn
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, September 5th, 2008 - 20 comments
As the polls start to turn on National – and a new poll out yesterday saying the Left working with the Maori Party would have the numbers why aren’t we surprised that Granny Herald’s ‘your views’ section today asks voters if they think the polls are accurate? Could they be more blatant in their concern […]
Why didn’t NZF use Nats’ donations playbook?
Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, September 4th, 2008 - 56 comments
This business with donations from the Spencer Trust going to New Zealand First but not being declared. I find it hard to credit that this was an accident. It seems beyond belief that no-one in the party would have seen the donation declaration at some point and said ‘hey, what about that $50K from the […]
Key: “I just followed what was in my diary”
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, September 2nd, 2008 - 38 comments
TV3 revealed last night that John Key has recently met with billionaire Tory donor Lord Michael Ashcroft. Lord Ashcroft clearly preferred that the meeting be kept secret and only a glimpse of him was caught as he departed Auckland airport in his private jet. Garner: “Has anyone in the National Party met Lord Ashcroft in […]
Break open the trusts
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, September 2nd, 2008 - 25 comments
As we’ve discussed earlier, it would be highly surprising if the investigations into NZF’s finances find any serious illegality. At worst, a failure to declare donations might be found, an offence for which charges cannot be laid more than 6 months after an alleged offence. Now, TV3 was shown accounts by the Spencer Trust which show that […]
Peters stands down
Written By: - Date published: 5:49 pm, August 29th, 2008 - 145 comments
Peters has stood down. Clark has taken over his portfolios. It’s good that Peters appears to have accepted that this is a necessity and hasn’t turned on the Government. Clever of Clark to take the portfolios herself too. [we nearly had the scoop on this too but it took too long for me to get […]
But why?
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, August 29th, 2008 - 62 comments
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on Peters because its not the kind of issue that affects Kiwis lives (its messy but its not like secretly planning to sell public assets). I’d rather use my post-writing time taking a deeper look at the findings of the Social Report. But… It seems likely, one […]
Clark cuts the thread
Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, August 28th, 2008 - 192 comments
Winston Peters’ stories around the Owen Glenn donation to his legal fund are dangerously convoluted and have stretched everyone’s credulity but without real evidence either way it has been impossible to fairly condemn him. Glenn’s letter yesterday provided strong evidence and left Peters ‘hanging by a thread’, as every hack in the country wrote. Now, Helen Clark […]
Whom to believe? (2)
Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, August 27th, 2008 - 63 comments
Owen Glenn’s letter to the Privileges Committee contradicts Winston Peters’ previous statements to the media, the Privileges Committee, and, presumably, the PM. Glenn says that Peters did personally approach him for a donation, contrary to what Peters has said. It’s important to remember that there’s nothing illegal or even unusual about what Glenn claims Peters did. […]
Open democracy?
Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, August 24th, 2008 - 20 comments
According to the Sunday Star Times the Sensible Sentencing Trust and Family First have decided to refuse to comply with the Electoral Finance Act. While the Sensible Sentencing Trust is outrightly claiming they are going to use their breach of the Act as a publicity stunt, Family First are absurdly claiming they can’t register as […]
Winston and the wanker
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, July 31st, 2008 - 49 comments
Today’s front-page story in the DominionPost on New Zealand First is a complete beat-up. It starts off: More questions have been raised about donations to NZ First over a $20,000 deposit to the party’s bank account that does not appear on its register of declared donations. Really? The story goes on: The Dominion Post has […]
Common sense from the Herald – stop the press!
Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, July 30th, 2008 - 59 comments
Brian Rudman’s piece in today’s Herald is so far the most sensible comment on the Spencer Trust affair. He points out that funding of elections in New Zealand has for far too long been vulnerable to the cheque-books of the rich. While some may be philanthropists like Glenn, or occasional players like Jones, others such […]
EPMU cleared to campaign
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, July 30th, 2008 - 39 comments
The Electoral Commission has decided the EPMU can register as a third party under the Electoral Finance Act despite the National Party spending big bucks to try to stop them in the courts. Given the EPMU is a democratic organisation representing 50,000 Kiwi workers and the other unions (dairy workers, meat workers, maritime workers and […]
Electoral Finance Act victory for free speech
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, July 30th, 2008 - 8 comments
The Electoral Commission has ruled that several unions affiliated to the Labour Party are able to register as third parties under the Electoral Finance Act. Their registration was objected to initally by David Farrar, the National Party frontperson who is the principal behind the registered third party known, ironically, as the Free Speech Coalition. The […]
Open up the trusts
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, July 24th, 2008 - 55 comments
Bob Jones confirmed on Morning Report that he gave $25,000 in 2005 to New Zealand First. The money was to be funnelled to NZF through the Spencer Trust but, according to the party’s declaration of donations the money was not passed on (parties’ declarations of donations are supposed to include any donations from a legal […]
EMA Kiwisaver campaign in breach of EFA?
Written By: - Date published: 6:53 pm, July 23rd, 2008 - 55 comments
The Employers and Manufacturers Association’s advertising campaign to defend the ability of employers to make workers pay their own Kiwisaver employer contribution while pocketing the taxpayer subsidy is the most hamfisted and transparently cynical piece of PR I’ve seen in some time. It’s outragous that the EMA should claim it’s standing up for workers’ rights […]
The Peters saga, a summary
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, July 23rd, 2008 - 35 comments
1 – In 2005, Owen Glenn paid $100,000 towards a legal defence fund for a case in Peters’ name. 2 – Peters was not told that Glenn had been a donor to that fund until last week according to both Peters and the lawyer Brian Henry. There is no evidence to the contrary. Neither Clark […]
Chasing Peters, it’s easier than examining policy
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, July 22nd, 2008 - 97 comments
For my part, I don’t see the big deal in all this Peters donation stuff. Transparency in election funding is important (and it’s something that National and ACT have constantly opposed) but there is no evidence of Peters has been purposely secretive. A legal defence fund set up for a court case involving Peters received […]
Spinbusting: NZF’s donations are Labour’s business
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, July 17th, 2008 - 52 comments
National is calling on Helen Clark to investigate alleged donations by Owen Glenn to New Zealand First (which, if they happened, were perfectly legal). Consider what that means: National is advocating for the leader of a political party to be able to delve into the internal finances of another political party. That would be a […]
Winnie and Glenn
Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, July 12th, 2008 - 75 comments
It appears, as everyone suspected, that Owen Glenn did give a donation to New Zealand First. There is nothing illegal or immoral in that. Under the law at the time anonymous donations of any sum were legal and National was the biggest exploiter of that fact, receiving over $2 million in secret donations in 2005 […]
How Obama reinvented campaign finance
Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, June 24th, 2008 - 15 comments
Click for the full-res version. (an infographic by XPLANE)
EFA lets voters know who bankrolls parties
Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, June 19th, 2008 - 65 comments
National has announced that John Key donated $30,000 to the party this month. That’s all well and good; Helen Clark donates a similar amount to Labour most years. What’s new is that the donations Key and every large donor to National or any other party are now public. Previously, National received up to $2 million a […]
Kremlinology: National on ACC
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, June 16th, 2008 - 41 comments
In most countries, accident insurance is big business. Insurers and lawyers make billions off premiums, claims, and court cases but many people don’t actually get any cover if they are injured. The Third Labour Government set up ACC to ensure everyone would have cover if they were injured. It also freed up the court system […]
Why Key really wants super-fast broadband
Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, June 11th, 2008 - 29 comments
Remember National’s broadband ‘plan’ that reads like it was drawn up on the back of a napkin? Notice how the only gains they can point to from this plan to borrow $1.5 billion are better video conferencing (when was the last time the average worker used video conferencing?) and being able to download pirated movies […]
How much did Key pay for his seat?
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, June 4th, 2008 - 85 comments
It’s funny the stories you hear when you’re out in the provinces. I was up in Auckland over the long weekend and came across someone who told me the story of how Key became involved in National. See, Key was never political growing up and certainly not strongly National. He can’t remember where he stood […]
“pretty similar”
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, May 29th, 2008 - 60 comments
I noticed an interesting comment from Ferdinand in our Kiwisaver thread yesterday: I signed up to Kiwisaver based on the 4% employer contribution being rolled out. If National cap that at 1% then I’m out of pocket by about $75,000 in contributions alone. That got me thinking about that meaningless phrase John Key used to […]
National’s campaign to muzzle union continues
Written By: - Date published: 4:14 pm, May 21st, 2008 - 139 comments
It seems National has succeeded in the first step of its campaign to muzzle the EPMU and the fifty thousand workers it represents. Over at the bog our mate Davey is crowing about the high court win that recognises the union as a legal person for the purposes of the act. This still means that […]
Nats’ attack on union hits High Court
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, May 14th, 2008 - 47 comments
Today National will be explaining to the High Court why it wants the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union’s 50,000 members to be denied the chance to campaign for their work rights this election. I’m expecting that they will continue to claim they are only “testing the law” but given the EPMU’s record of showing National […]
Electoral donations reported
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, May 1st, 2008 - 52 comments
The Electoral Commission has published the parties’ donation returns for 2007. It is worth noting from the outset that under the electoral law then in force only donations over $10,000 had to be declared and anonymous donations, including the use of anonymising trusts, were legal. Labour has the largest return, at $1,030,446.39. But $700,000 was […]
ACT: shamelessly campaigning with your money
Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, April 18th, 2008 - 81 comments
Earlier in the week we heard that Heather Roy may have broken the Electoral Finance Act by including party advertising messages in her weekly taxpayer funded newsletters without the required authorisation by ACT’s financial agent. This time round she’s added the necessary authorisation but decided that it’s still ok to bill us for hearing from […]
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