Tuesday, July 24, 2007



Election funding: the rhetoric and the reality

The rhetoric: Helen Clark, Question Time, 6 September 2006:

I look forward to the National Party’s support for clamping down on anonymous donations. I understand that in Australia everything over $250 has to be declared. That sounds like a good idea to me.

The reality: no clampdown on anonymous or laundered donations, and no change in declaration thresholds.

So, what happened? Why did Labour lose its urge for reform? With both the Greens and NZ First declaring themselves in favour of greater disclosure, they had a majority there if they wanted it. So why didn't they take it?