National's Christopher Luxon and Act's David Seymour. Photos / NZME
OPINION:
In a recent opinion piece, Herald senior writer Simon Wilson challenged National and Act party donors to prove that their donations were not motivated by their desire to pay less tax. His implication being that they were.
As a former member of the Act party board and having met many of these donors, I can say that Wilson’s characterisation of them is unfair, offensive even.
The notion that their donation is motivated by a selfish desire to pay less tax ignores the fact that no person is an island, they will have family and friends who pay tax. Their genuine concern for the plight of all New Zealanders was also obvious to me in the discussions I had with them for this article.
Likewise, Wilson’s characterisation of them ignores the fact that these donors will have concerns and opinions on any number of areas in which government policy has an impact, not just tax.
A higher standard of living for all New Zealanders, a world-class health system, a world-leading educational system, safe streets, a sound democracy where everyone is valued and respected equally, and where freedom of expression was paramount, were the most common desires of the National and Act donors I spoke to for this article. These are the reasons they gave me for making their donation and none of them mentioned tax.
Some had more specific concerns and one such donor is Chris Reeve, who is a donor to both National and Act. His latest donation to Act was motivated by his desire to help the party with a private members bill to repeal legislation that has led to children in the care of Oranga Tamariki being ripped away from the only stable and loving family they have ever known.
For the Government, the emotional harm these children suffer when it tears them away from their families is not a concern, it seems. For Reeve it is, and he is prepared to use his money to help these children by getting this abuse stopped.
Reeve started out as a shearer who became a sharemilker and then a farmer when he was able to buy a farm in Kaikohe by borrowing 110 per cent of the farm’s value. He later sold it and bought land in Waiheke which he subdivided.
He now has a wide range of investments. He has a different life now to when he started, which he recognises with quiet philanthropy, with money put into schools in the Far North and around Bay of Plenty, and many other charities. His background is hard work and long hours, setting goals and taking risks.
Reeve, like many other donors, is also concerned that his grandchildren will not be able to find the freedom to succeed and prosper in the same way he did. He has 10 of them and so it is a big concern for him.
Reeve and the other donors to Act and National are the type of people who see the growing need for more welfare and more state housing as a sign that as a country we are on the wrong track. They want more than a government that believes all problems can be solved by taking more money off one group of people in tax and giving it to others, either to subsidise the cost of something or prop up their income.
They want a government that is aspirational for New Zealand and encourages success and strives for a more prosperous nation. These donors believe in the power of human endeavour and enterprise. A country where these are the virtues we encourage is their vision.
Nothing could be further from the truth than to characterise these donors as selfish pursuers of low taxes, was a common refrain I heard from the people I spoke to who have raised funds for Act and National.
The view of these fundraisers was the same I’d formed after talking to many donors over the many years I was involved with Act and more recently for this article. The people who are donating to National and Act do so because they care and they want to help make New Zealand a better place for all. Their philanthropy and benevolence are not something they shout from the rooftops. Most, for that reason, did not want to be quoted for this article and Reeve was reluctant but agreed because he felt it was another way to help his country.
It is to National and Act that they donate because they see more hope for a more prosperous and more equal New Zealand in the values these parties support.
It is a shame that Wilson chose not to talk to these donors and find this out for himself before he mischaracterised them.
Robin Grieve is a former member of the Act party board. He is an orchardist in Whangārei growing avocados and kiwifruit