KEY POINTS:
In October 2006, when our largest listed company Telecom decided to stop making donations to political parties, it was seen as a sign of things to come.
Two years on, it appears corporate New Zealand has largely followed Telecom's move. Contact Energy, for example,
stopped making donations in 2004. Why?
"Simply because we don't see the need," says spokesman Jonathan Hill.
Other corporates, including ASB Bank, BNZ Bank, Sky City, and Westpac also told The Business they either never made donations or had ceased doing so.
More's the pity, says public relations consultant Mark Unsworth.
"I'm passionate in the belief that corporates should play their part in democracy and that includes helping fund political parties," he told The Business.
His firm, Saunders Unsworth's client list includes several medium to large corporates. Unsworth says almost none make donations.
He puts that down to a combination of factors, including decisions made overseas, particularly Australia, where corporates "tend to be a bit gun-shy about how they handle political donations".
Furthermore, some of his clients have buckled under the pressure from groups like the Shareholders' Association.
Companies Unsworth has worked with have normally given equal amounts of cash to Labour and National, and smaller amounts to the minor parties based on their polling, "and also how close they are to where you want to be in terms of policy".
But where does extending greater largesse to parties whose policies are "where you want to be" end, and cash for policy begin?
After the last election, Labour suggested that insurance industry cash poured into National's coffers anonymously ahead of the election and senior Labour figures linked this to National's policy to open up the Accident Compensation Corporation to competition, which might have provided a windfall to those companies.
The major insurance companies denied this at the time, as did Chris Ryan, chief executive of industry body the Insurance Council, this week.
"We did not donate any money to the National Party at the last election, this election or any time that I'm aware of."
Unsworth reckons he might come across as naive in saying so, "but I don't ever see any examples of cash for policy".
Then again, naivete is not a quality one normally associates with an experienced operator in the public relations industry.
""I just don't think cash for policy operates in New Zealand, I've never seen examples of it but what you do see is people donating, which leads them to perhaps have more access [to politicians].
"I've never seen anything you could come close to calling dodgy in terms of how systems operate." Then again, "You never know who gives through trusts because it's hidden," he adds as an afterthought.
