How much money does a candidate need? David MacLeod's predicament

Should there be a cap on political donations?

Does the electoral law need upper limits on political donations?

David MacLeod, MP for New Plymouth, failed to declare 19 candidate donations worth $178,000 to the Electoral Commission. He’s given an explanation and apology, saying it was an inadvertent error. His original return declared $29,268 in donations and $22,826.51 in expenses. His amended return now reports $207,662 in donations.

MacLeod has been stood down from his roles on select committees, but there may be further consequences. The matter may be referred by the Electoral Commission to the police, as there’s been a false return of donations to a candidate.

How that process plays out could have consequences for MacLeod as a National Party candidate at the next election. But he may well survive. His public confession helps him, as it sounds full and frank. Reporter Glenn McLean found some locals who are still backing their MP. Although not directly comparable, revelations about a past violent incident involving National MP Sam Uffindel caused outrage, but the party stood by him following an investigation and confession. Uffindel regained his seat of Tauranga with a significantly larger margin in 2023. It seems that conservative voters can forgive a representative who errs and repents.

Rather than focus only on the donations error, however, the expenses side of the ledger is also worth examining.

MacLeod’s declared electoral expenses of $22,826.51 are well within the spending limit for candidates’ election advertising during the three-month regulated period (14 July to 13 October 2023). The limit was $32,600.

But what was the unspent balance of $184,835 meant for?

Some donors may now be wondering why they gave MacLeod anything at all, as he received much more than he was allowed to spend. The balance could be spent outside of the regulated three-month period, however, or saved for future campaigns. That gives him an advantage over other candidates for the seat.

As he spent much less than he received, it raises a question about limits on donations.

Aside from limits on how much individual donors can donate, should there be upper limits on the total amounts that candidates and parties can receive in donations? Such limits could be either per annum or per election.

The Independent Electoral Review in their final report in November 2023 noted that

“There is no limit on how much a political party or candidate can receive in donations.” (p. 313)

but they only recommended a limit on how much a donor can give:

“Limiting the total amount a registered elector may give by way of donations and loans to each political party and its candidates to $30,000 per electoral cycle.”

Should there also be upper limits on the total sums receivable by candidates and parties in donations, after which any excess goes either to the Crown or to approved charities?

Note: At present, if a donation from an anonymous source exceeds the $1,500 limit for anonymous donations, and the excess can’t be paid back to the donor because they’re keeping themselves anonymous, the remainder must be paid to the Crown via the Electoral Commission.