The Green Party welcome a law change to help protect our democracy from the influence of powerful vested interests by banning foreign donations of more than $50, Justice spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said today.

“We believe in an open democracy with transparent and equal access for all New Zealanders.

“To help ensure New Zealand has a thriving and healthy Parliament the Green Party have long called for foreign donations to be banned. This measure in part of my Strengthening Democracy Members Bill, so we are very happy to see our Government making progress in this area.

“Limiting foreign donations to $50 will reduce undue influence from powerful vested interests and create a healthier and fairer system,

“We would like to see a raft of further measures to ensure equal access to our democracy. This includes implementing the 2012 MMP Review recommendations, reducing the anonymity threshold for all donations, and allowing Māori to change roll type at any time.

“We welcome the legislation announced today and look forward to working further with Minister Little to ensure our democracy is one of the most accessible in the world”.

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