Kelvin Davis pictured with Whangarei Rape Crisis workers and volunteers.
Kelvin Davis pictured with Whangarei Rape Crisis workers and volunteers.
Labour list MP Kelvin Davis has made sure Whangarei Rape Crisis benefited from a political football game that involved a couple of cross-party fouls.
Passing on donations made to him by two high-profile right wing commentators, Mr Davis — who earlier called for donations to help "bring down" the InternetMana Party — asked "is democracy for sale?".
On Tuesday he gave Rape Crisis $300; $100 of his own and $100 each donated by Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater and National Party poll analyst David Farrar to a gimmicky fundraiser that has since been quashed.
Mr Davis said he was sure Mr Slater and Mr Farrar would be pleased their money was now going toward the campaign against sexual violence.
He would not comment on Mr Slater and Mr Farrar both making public this week the fact they made those donations or a leak of emails in which Labour Party officials discussed Mr Davis' vetoed fundraiser campaign.
Those party discussions took place six weeks ago when the electorate team tossed around and threw out Mr Davis' call for public donations to help "take down Kim Dotcom and stop him from buying the seat of Te Tai Tokerau with his $3 million", he said. Mr Davis is taking on Mana Party leader Hone Harawira in the Te Tai Tokerau seat.
Labour's election game plan is "be positive" and its slogan is "vote positive" but Mr Davis denies party bosses have ticked him off for not playing nicely when he described, again via social media, the Internet Mana Party as "the biggest con in New Zealand's political history".
Meanwhile, Mr Harawira is also calling foul play - against Mr Davis.
"I was shocked, dismayed and hurt, to hear that Kelvin Davis was secretly canvassing for funds from National to campaign against me," Mr Harawira said.
"I am sad to hear that he refuses to acknowledge what he has done and refuses to apologise for his tactics.
"We may be on different parties, but our people want this to be a campaign of ideas and values, our people do not want this to be the dirty and underhand campaign that Kelvin has made it into."
Mr Harawira has called for an apology from Labour, but none will be forthcoming.
Mr Davis said many "ordinary New Zealanders" had contributed to what was as much an awareness raising campaign as a fundraiser and he had not asked for money from National Party supporters or other right wingers.
