Money for something: A report on political party funding in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Democracy relies on equality between citizens. When some people have greater influence on key decisions, or greater access to people who have influence, democracy is undermined. However, in New Zealand, over several decades, political parties’ memberships have waned dramatically, and income and wealth have become more concentrated at the top. Meanwhile the cost of campaigning has risen. All this has made parties ever-more dependent on wealthy donors, leaving the door open for those donors to win favours in return. Our research highlights an accelerating pace of scandals caused by the movement of money between wealthy donors and decision-makers.

The core recommendations from this research are: 1. Donors’ identities disclosed when they give over $1,500; 2. An annual cap on donations at $15,000; 3. Donations allowed only from eligible voters, not organisations; 4. Stronger powers for the Electoral Commission to pursue donations fraud; and 5. A system of state subsidies for small donations, democracy vouchers to allow voters to allocate state-provided campaign funds, and lump-sum payments to all parties.