What are political donors getting for their money – and does it work?

Political players involved in the donations game. (Image: NZME)

Wed, 02 Aug 2023

The problem for political donations in New Zealand seems not that our parties are wallowing in a cesspool of dark money but rather the opposite -- that under MMP, a little can appear to go an awfully long way.The donations “incidents” we’ve seen so far (see Research Areas for Concern below) suggest we’re still some way from the United Kingdom – where former prime minister Boris Johnson hit up Tory donors in 2020 to pay to redecorate his apartment at 11 Downing St and this year pocketed another £1 million...

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