28 Apr 2021

National Party warned for failing to declare donation on time

1:50 pm on 28 April 2021

The National Party has been warned by the Electoral Commission for failing to declare a donation on time.

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National Party leader Judith Collins Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Any donation of over $30,000 must be declared to the Commission within 10 working days of it being received.

National received a $35,000 donation from businessman Garth Barfoot and it should have been filed after the election in November last year.

The party did not declare the money until 31 March.

A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said it had written to the National Party "reinforcing the importance of adhering to the statutory timeframes and noted that an additional step is being taken to strengthen donation notification processes within the party".

Since 2011, there have been 11 instances of parties declaring donations over $30,000 late, including this one.

Three were referred to the police and four parties received a warning. In four cases no further action was taken.

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