Gareth Morgan’s vote-for-charity bid deemed ‘cynical’
OPPORTUNITIES Party leader Gareth Morgan is donating $1 million to charity to make a point about how difficult it is for smaller political parties to make a splash in New Zealand.
The multi-millionaire, who launched the party last year, is using the $41,000 it will receive from the taxpayer for broadcasting time, topping it up to $1m and distributing it to four charities chosen by the public.
‘‘Instead of wasting all that money on yelling at you we thought it would be better to give you a chance to show you care, think about what worries you most and vote for a charity that helps pick up the pieces,’’ Morgan said.
The four charities are Women’s Refuge, Conservation Volunteers, KidsCan and Lifeline. But voting requires visiting The Opportunities Party website and watching a video about its policies first.
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei described the tactic as a ‘‘gratuitous and cynical way to buy votes’’. ‘‘Organisations like Women’s Refuge are in desperate need of more money and support and people want those organisations to have more resources, and we and others have been fighting for that for a long time. This is really just an attempt to use that need for his own private benefit and to buy votes.’’
Under the Electoral Commission broadcasting allocation the National Party will receive approximately $1.2m, Labour $1m, the Greens $497,000, NZ First $394,000, Maori Party $124,000 and both UnitedFuture and ACT $93,000.
‘‘We’re the new boys on the block, so we don’t get much,’’ Morgan said. ‘‘In order to compete with these people, we’re going to have to spend that sort of money. The Nats will spend over $5m on their campaign, Labour and the Greens will spend over $3m. Competing in this space is not either for the faint-hearted, or the shallow pockets is it?’’
Morgan said the ‘‘smarter way’’ for him to compete was to use his wealth to help charities while making a ‘‘plea to the public to notice our stuff’’.