ACT's hidden big business donations highlight hypocrisy

22 April 2001

The Green Party says today's Sunday Star Times revelations about the elaborate techniques ACT Party big business backers used to hide the size and sources of its 1996 election funding will lead to ACT's demise.

"The facts speak for themselves," said Green Party Co-leader Rod Donald.

"Rodney Hide should return from his taxpayer funded trip to South America to answer for his party's actions. Clearly ACT and their big business cronies used every technique they could dream up to avoid revealing both who funded their 1996 campaign and the extent to which each of them bankrolled it.

"Hide has made a lot of noise about exposing shonky practices and his party claims the business sector would do a better job running the country than the government, but they obviously don't lead by example.

Mr Donald said that ACT's credibility is in tatters following the revelations.

"Rodney Hide and Richard Prebble will never be taken seriously again and voters will no longer be sucked in by ACT now that they can see who pulled the strings to get them into parliament.

"In the meantime, donation disclosure rules need to be tightened considerably and state funding of political parties needs to be implemented to ensure all political viewpoints get a fair airing," he said.

ENDS

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