Donation of $5OOO to National defended

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 3

Donation of $5OOO to National defended

PA Wellington Making donations to political parties was “not even a misdemeanour," the Prime Minister said yesterday. He said after the Government caucus that members had not expressed concern about the apparent $5OOO donation to the East Coast Bays National Party by Mr John Spencer, the man trying to buy Stoney Batter on Waiheke Island. "I wish he had given (a donation) to me,” Mr Muldoon said. “I can only think he admires Dr Brash’s (the defeated National candidate last year) economic theories. “Surely there is no secret that various people make donations to political parties.”

Political critics should reveal a list of donations they had received, Mr Muldoon said.

A former employee of Mr Spencer said she recorded evidence of a donation to the East Coast Bays National Party fund for $5OOO. Miss Theresa Reed, until September last year assistant secretary to Mr Spencer, the managing director of Caxton Paper Mills, said that she had handled a receipt, in the mail from the East Coast Bays National Party electorate confirming a $5OOO donation from her employer. She estimated the receipt had arrived between July and August of last year.

Miss Reed said she remembered the matter because she had wondered why Mr Spencer had made a donation of $5OOO to East Coast Bays when he lived in Takapuna. She had begun “to make sense” of it when she learnt that Dr D. T. Brash was the National Party candidate for East Coast Bays. Mr Spencer and Dr Brash had had “quite a lot” of contact while she was employed at the firm last year. Miss Reed saio ... Mr Spencer also had a lot of

contact with the Minister of Transport and member ‘for North Shore, Mr Gair, but she could not recall any contact with the Minister of Lands, Mr Elworthy.

She said it was not until the Labour member for Te Atatu, Dr Michael Bassett, had alleged in Parliament this month that a possible contribution to National Party funds might have swayed Mr Elworthy towards selling Stoney Batter on Waiheke Island that she realised the importance of the earlier transaction. She said she was “too frightened” to come forward at that time because she feared repercussions for her “business integrity.” Dr Brash said it was not National Party policy to disclose the identity of donors to the campaign funds. He said that at no stage did he personally benefit from campaign funds and that he was not aware of any contributions which “carried tags” for the donor. Dr Brash said that he and Mr Spencer had been friends for about seven years and much of their regular contact last year related to Mr Spencer’s interest in politics.

“At no stage in our conversations were the words ‘Stoney Batter’ ever spoken. It has only been recently that I have become aware of the situation there.” The chairman of the Waiheke branch of the National Party, Mrs Kathleen Hillman, said yesterday that the Government's “compromise” recommendation on the disposal of Stoney Batter was unnecessary and probably unworkable. Mr Elworthy has recommended that the defence works on the 20 hectares of Crown land on Waiheke Island known as Stoney Batter be kept as public reserve.

The rest could then be spld to Mr Spencer, who already owns 1800 hectares surrounding Stoney Batter.