KOA calls for Christchurch Mayor to reveal donors to her 2016 election campaign

 We are deeply disappointed the Serious Fraud Office has closed its investigation into Lianne Dalziel’s 2019 election campaign expenses saying they can find no evidence of criminal intent.

 We do not think Dalziel’s explanation of her failure to disclose the donors to her 2019 campaign election was credible. Donors over $1500 are required to be disclosed.

For such an experienced politician to claim she did not know the law and deferred to her late husband is not acceptable. Her explanation should have been tested in court via a prosecution.

As things stand now the citizens of Christchurch still do not know the identities of the donors to Dalziel’s 2016 campaign and the Mayor, in good faith, should release this information now.

Politicians have a long history of skirting the law

In 2016 she used the same method to hide the identity of her big donors: an auction where the total raised was disclosed but not the identity of those who paid more than $1500 above the market value of the items auctioned.

Local and central government politicians have a long history of skirting the law to hide their big donors from the public.

We need this information now in the interest of openness and transparency.

We have no way to hold politicians to account for their conflicts of interest if we do not know who their big money backers are.

We want to see the law changed so that voters in local and central government elections are required to reveal their big donors BEFORE people go to the polls as happened in Wellington before the votes were cast in their 2019 mayoral contest.