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Wellington, March 13, 2019
Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross has said that he will force a vote in Parliament on the issue of overseas donations.
The move comes as concern around overseas donations and foreign influence in elections grows in prominence in New Zealand politics.
Mr Ross has submitted amendments to the Local Electoral Matters Bill, which is scheduled to be considered at the committee stage in Parliament tonight.
Knowing MPs’ mind
He issued the following Statement:
The amendments will see MPs vote on where they stand on overseas donations.
The leaders or spokespeople for political parties representing a majority in Parliament have said that we should ban overseas donations.
I agree. New Zealanders do not want our electoral system to be compromised by overseas donations and Kiwis don’t want our democracy to be hijacked by the threat of foreign influence.
The amendments I have put up to the Local Electoral Matters Bill would see Parliament vote on this important issue. Our laws are far too loose and open to abuse.
I support banning overseas donations at all tiers of our democracy.
Serious flaws
There are serious flaws in the Local Electoral Act 2001 when it comes to the rules around candidates receiving overseas donations.
Right now, there are zero restrictions on candidates receiving overseas donations in local government elections.
The restrictions that exist for parliamentary elections under the Electoral Act 1993 are not mirrored in local government legislation.
There is also no limit on the amount of an overseas donation that can be accepted.
An overseas donor can make a donation of an unlimited amount, and the candidate would only have to declare this after the election.
We have an opportunity this week to put in place greater restrictions on overseas donations, and we should be doing that.
Three Options
I have proposed three different options for amendments to the Local Electoral Matters Bill which would restrict the ability of people overseas to interfere in New Zealand’s democracy.
One option would bring the Local Electoral Act 2001 into line with the Electoral Act 1993 with regard to overseas donations, where overseas donations are capped at $1500.
I have proposed even greater restrictions that would ban overseas donations entirely.
Our local electoral framework should, at the very least, reflect the overseas donations provisions that exist for parliamentary elections.
I also hold the view that even greater restrictions should be put in place to effectively ban all overseas donations.
Legislative ban
The amendments I have put forward include the option of a legislative ban on overseas donations at the local government level, and a restriction so that only New Zealanders that are enrolled to vote could make a donation to a candidate.
We should restrict donations in local government elections and parliamentary elections to only those that are enrolled to vote.
The Local Electoral Matters Bill progressing through the Parliament this week gives MPs an opportunity to vote on donation matters at the local government level.
With the 2019 local government elections only now months away, it is imperative that the Parliament takes the opportunity, through this Bill, to tighten the overseas donations regime at the local government level.
As Councils and Mayors around New Zealand are making greater attempts to forge overseas relationships between their cities and overseas cities, it’s appropriate we take steps to ensure our electoral system is not influenced by large-scale foreign donations.
I hope that MPs will follow through on their public statements to date on banning overseas donations.
The Order Papers
Supplementary Order Papers drafted by him include three options:
SOP 196 would ban all foreign donations in local government elections as well as restrict donations to natural persons that are enrolled as electors. This would prevent an overseas person utilising a company registered in New Zealand as an effective back door to making a donation.
SOP 197 would ban all foreign donations in local government elections, but still allowing non-natural persons to make donations, provided they don’t meet the definition of being an overseas donation.
SOP 198 would put in place overseas donation restrictions that mirror the restrictions that exist in the Electoral Act 1993, where overseas donations up to $1500 may be received and accepted.
