Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Foreign donation loophole still wide open

Media Release
3/12/2019

Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross says the Government’s foreign donation ban is a ban in name only.

“The Government’s announcement that they will lower the overseas donations restrictions from $1,500 to $50 does nothing to close the back door to foreigners influencing NZ politics through companies and other structures.

“The real evil of foreigners interfering in our democracy is not through $1,500 donations, but rather through $150,000 donations funnelled through foreign-owned companies.

“Any foreigner can be involved in a registered NZ company and utilise that as a back door to influencing our political parties.

“New Zealand’s democracy is sacred and cannot be allowed to be interfered with by overseas entities who seek to influence this country’s elections through donations to political parties.

”Earlier this year government ministers rightly panned the National Party’s $150,000 donation from a Chinese owned company called Inner Mongolia Rider Horse NZ in 2017.

”But when given a chance to clean up the law, they have failed to effectively protect our democracy from foreign interference.

“The only way to effectively ban foreigners from influencing our politics is to restrict who can make donations to people who are entitled to vote in New Zealand elections.

“If you aren’t entitled to influence an election by voting, you should not be entitled to influence an election by donating to a political party.

“The Government has made a small step in the right direction but it has not done much.

“I will vote for this small change, but sadly the level of donation transparency in New Zealand politics will only marginally improve.”

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

Gordon Campbell: On How Climate Change Threatens Cricket‘s Future

Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else and complaining that he's inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” - which is how most of us would describe his own coalition agreements, 100-Day Plan, and backdated $3 billion handout to landlords... More


 
 
Public Housing Futures: Christmas Comes Early For Landlords

New CTU analysis of the National & ACT coalition agreement has shown the cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords is an extra $900M on top of National’s original proposal. This is because it is going to be implemented earlier and faster, including retrospective rebates from April 2023. More


Green Party: Petition To Save Oil & Gas Ban

“The new Government’s plan to expand oil and gas exploration is as dangerous as it is unscientific. Whatever you think about the new government, there is simply no mandate to trash the climate. We need to come together to stop them,” says James Shaw. More

PSA: MFAT Must Reverse Decision To Remove Te Reo

MFAT's decision to remove te reo from correspondence before new Ministers are sworn in risks undermining the important progress the public sector has made in honouring te Tiriti. "We are very disappointed in what is a backward decision - it simply seems to be a Ministry bowing to the racist rhetoric we heard on the election campaign trail," says Marcia Puru. More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.