Call for Clinton Foundation funding to cease
3,000 New Zealanders back NZTU call for Clinton
Foundation funding to cease
16 JUNE
2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
More than
three thousand people have now signed a petition backing the
Taxpayers’ Union call for the Government to stop NZ
Aid's taxpayer funding of the Clinton Foundation’s
subsidiary charity, the “Clinton Health Initiative”. To
date, Kiwi taxpayers have forked out $7.7 million to the
Clinton Foundation’s “Health Access Initiative” with
$2.5 million and $3 million earmarked for 2017 and 2018
respectively.
Taxpayers’
Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, says, “This
money comes from the NZ Aid budget which should be going to
programmes that are the most effective at helping the
world’s poor - not side-tracked into political
objectives."
“Last month, we wrote to the new Minister
of Foreign Affairs, Gerry Brownlee, asking him to veto this
funding. We think the convention of taxpayers money not
being used to fund the aspirations of foreign politicians
should be extended to include charities founded or led by
foreign politicians. Groups like the Clinton Foundation may
be responsible for some good work, but their dual purpose
– charitable work as well as further the political
ambitions of their patrons – make it unsuited to NZ Aid
support."
The petition can be signed at http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/clinton_petition.
ENDS