Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Cabinet Club
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Green Party
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John Key
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Metiria Turei
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MPs or media
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Political donations
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Politics of envy
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Russel Norman
The Green Party seems to have abandoned being a political party now, and taken up journalism. Maybe it was the excitement on Twitter last night as Canon Media Awards were handed out, but that's the only explanation for this tweet from Russel Norman:
And right on cue, the Dom-Post has a story this morning with Dr Norman quoted prominently:
Some of Wellington's most recognisable names paid $3500 each to meet Prime Minister John Key at a National Party fundraising dinner also attended by his taxpayer-funded chief of staff, Wayne Eagleson.
As Opposition allegations continue to swirl around National's so-called "Cabinet clubs" for wealthy donors, it has emerged about 15 people, including former Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast and Weta Digital co-founder Jamie Selkirk, attended the dinner at the Museum Hotel, which raised $45,000 for National.
The Cabinet club fundraising events, attended by leading National MPs, have been in the spotlight this week after the resignation of Maurice Williamson, who intervened with police on behalf of a wealthy National Party donor.
Justice Minister Judith Collins has also been under attack over her dinner with representatives of milk exporter Oravida - a company her husband governs, and which has also donated to National.
The fundraisers have been criticised for providing donors with access to ministers in return for cash. National has responded that Labour has done the same kind of fundraising.
The Museum Hotel event was held in 2011, and organised by hotel owner and National Party fundraiser Chris Parkin.
He said yesterday the event was nothing to do with the Cabinet clubs but was his way of helping to support National.
He joked that at least $2000 worth of each donation was for the food and wine. He did not believe anyone attending fundraising dinners expected to be able to "influence" the prime minister. "They are more there to ask questions."
Developer Richard Burrell, who was one of those present, said he was "chuffed" to attend after the asking price dropped from $5000 to $3500, and because Parkin always put on entertaining events that were good fun.
Key and Eagleson chatted to those attending, and it was "a good fun evening".
Payment for the event went to Parkin, he said. Official party donation records show Parkin correctly declared a $45,000 donation to National about two months later.
Prendergast said yesterday that she did not pay to attend, as she was there as a guest of Parkin. Selkirk did not want to comment.
Green Party leader Russel Norman said the fundraiser showed wealthy people could get access to the prime minister when poorer people could not.
Such fundraisers "may be technically legal, they're not right", he said. "If you have a lot of money, you can buy exclusive access to the prime minister."
Dr Norman seems to miss a fundamental point here. Whilst he concedes that the dinner was "technically legal" he's actually wrong; the dinner was absolutely positively legal. It was promoted as a fundraiser for the party, and the donation from Chris Parkin was legally declared.
But the point Norman misses is that people in New Zealand have a choice, and if they want to support the National Party (as many business people do, because National is far more business-friendly than the Greens, Labour or Mana) they have an absolute right to do that, provided it is done legally.
The Green Party's complaints here are petty, and motivated by a combination of the politics of envy, the fact that few people would shell out $3500 for dinner with Dr Norman or Ms Turei (or even David Cunliffe for that matter) but above all a desire to see taxpayer funding of political parties. If a Labour-Green government is ever elected, you can guarantee that will be on the agenda.
We suggest that the Greens stick to politics. It's not the job of political parties to boast about breaking stories, and in any event, 3News actually broke the story, although obviously they'd been fed plenty of inside information from the Green Party comms team. If the Greens want to break stories, let them give up the offices and support staff that you and we pay for, let them give up their MP salaries and taxpayer-funded travel, and let them join the Press Gallery and scratch out a living.
