NZ First donations legal split payments

WELLINGTON: The New Zealand First Foundation received $100,000 in just one week from two richlisters, whose donations remained secret because the individual payments fell below the disclosure threshold.

An electoral law specialist says the payments show the level at which donations have to be made public is set much too high.

The Spencers, one of New Zealand’s richest families, gave $50,000 to the foundation in July 2017 — election year — using a law firm to make the payments in four amounts below the level at which donations are made public.

The week before, Andrew Bagnall, and entities connected with the racing car driver turned businessman, also donated $50,000 to the foundation in four separate payments.

A law firm acting for the Spencer family, which has a wealth estimated at $1 billion by the NBR Rich List, made four donations of $12,500 each, on the same day — July 11, 2017.

RNZ has seen a letter sent to the foundation by law firm Martelli McKegg that day, confirming that the donations would not be made public.

A Martelli McKegg solicitor wrote to foundation trustee Doug Woolerton saying that, under the firm’s understanding of electoral law, the donors must be disclosed to the New Zealand First Party but not publicly declared.

‘‘We understand that as the donations are individually less than the threshold of $15,000 the details of the donors will not be disclosed to the public or the Electoral Commission.’’

The letter names the four donors as Berridge, Mertsi and Olivia Spencer and Jeffrey Scrimgeour.

Records show that each donor was issued a $12,500 receipt by foundation trustee Doug Woolerton.

The Spencer family fortune dates back to the pulp and paper producer Caxton in the late 1800s and today they have business interests around the world.

The Spencer property investment company is Clime Asset Management, whose portfolio includes Waiheke vineyard Man O’War.

Members of the Spencer family were named as financial contributors to the National Party in Nicky Hager’s 2006 book The Hollow Men.

University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis, who has viewed foundation documents, believed the 2017 Spencer family donations to the foundation were within the law.

‘‘If four individual family members each individually decide they want to give $12,500 and those four donations are bundled together into one donation of $50,000 and passed over in one amount that’s perfectly legal.’’

Prof Geddis believed the law should be changed to require greater disclosure.

‘‘The ultimate effect is that a political party has received a sum of $50,000 from essentially one family.

‘‘Now, $50,000 in the New Zealand political sphere — it’s a reasonably big amount of money.’’

The donations from Mr Bagnall were also made in four payments. The first was made in his own name on July 4, 2017 for $10,000. Over the next two days, three entities associated with Mr Bagnall made separate payments totalling another $40,000.

The payments, from entities named as Miramare, Perune and ETF, all have the same reference: ‘‘election 17’’.

Mr Bagnall built his name in business with the Gullivers Travel group.

Neither the Spencer family nor Mr Bagnall responded to requests for comment from RNZ.

The donations are part of a pattern, previously reported by RNZ, of the foundation receiving payments from wealthy donors just beneath the $15,000 disclosure threshold.

As well as the Spencers and Mr Bagnell, other multiple large donors to the foundation between 2017 and 2019 revealed by RNZ in recent weeks, where individual payments are $15,000 or less but exceed that in a single year when added together include.—

Cambridge Stud owners Brendan and Jo Lindsay and associated entities: $75,000.

Property development company Conrad Properties and related entities: $55,000.

Brink’s Chicken owners the Van Den Brink family and associated companies: $36,000.

Entities owned by stud owner and former motorsport driver Kent Baigent: $30,000.

Entities owned by richlister Graeme Hart: $29,990.

Seafood company Talley’s and managing director Sir Peter Talley: $26,950.

Windsor Park stud owners Nelson and Sue Schick and related entities: $20,000. — RNZ

❛ The ultimate effect is that a political party has received a sum of

$50,000 from essentially one family