The Electoral Commission has published parties’ return of donations of $30,000 or more received in the past year and the results are interesting.
National has performed extraordinarily well and has received $2.3 million from large donors. ACT also performed well from the largesse of the uber wealthy and recorded large donations totalling $1.1 million. Labour in comparison received only $150,000 from two donors. The Greens raised $122,000 through tithing of their leaders salaries.
These are only the totals of large donations. I suspect that when the full return is filed this will also show National and Act performing extraordinarily well.
From the Herald:
The National Party may start election year with a $2.3 million war chest raised from 24 big donors in 2022, while Labour has declared just $150,000 in large donations, according to Electoral Commission records.
The disparity has seen National raise more money from large donors in one year than Labour has raised in nearly a decade.
Most of National’s funds are thanks to a fundraising blitz from former deputy leader Paula Bennett who tapped richlisters, including New Zealand’s wealthiest man, for as much as $250,000 each last year. It is not clear how much of this funding was spent in 2022, and how much has been put aside for campaigning this year.
There are some familiar names amongst the donors.
The biggest single donor was New Zealand’s wealthiest man, Graeme Hart, who donated $250,000 to National and $100,000 to Act. Fellow richlister Murray Bolton also chipped in $250,000 to the National Party as did Zuru toys co-founder Nick Mowbray.
National’s 2022 tally meant it raised more money in one year from large donors than Labour has raised since 2013, a year in which it raised over $400,000 in a large bequest.
Labour’s general-secretary Rob Salmond said while National received a “large number of donations from the wealthiest New Zealanders”, Labour was “proud to be supported by many thousands of donors – from all walks of life giving whatever they can afford”.
He accused National of a “narrow focus on the wealthiest New Zealanders, both in its policies and its donors”.
It makes you wonder what the wealthy want to achieve with these donations. Managing to have this much spare cash is not a sign that things are bad or need to change. The need to have even more appears to be almost pathological.
This news reinforces my very strong impression that this election will be fiercely fought. What National lacks in activists it makes up for in funding.
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