Should small parties that don’t have a chance of
getting over 5%, get government funding? That is the
question I would have answered on the Platform with Michael
Laws (before his repugnant statements about women candidates
came to light), had Sean Plunket not banned me from the
Platform. That’s right, I received a text from The
Platform which stated, “Change of plan … Sean Plunkett
says you are banned from The Platform”. Not a great loss
you might think from that self-proclaimed champion of free
speech, but it is a question I have been asked many times
over the last few months.
The broadcasting
allowance is from the statutory requirement to provide a
fair opportunity for all eligible parties to convey their
policies to the public. It can only pay expenses for TV,
radio and some internet advertising but the rules aren’t
clear for this. To qualify your party must have over 500
current financial members. There is just over four million
dollars to spread across 17 registered parties. Those six
parties that are in parliament having received more votes in
the last election getting most of the cash.
But the
real money comes from donations from the super rich and
corporates. So far this election $8,254,331
has been given in donations over $20 000. As might be
expected National, Act, Labour, NZ First, Greens, and now
Opportunity have got significant donations of $20,000 or
over. You might think that these parties got an extra eight
million bucks to spend. Well yes, but there is more. The
real money comes in the form of smaller donations of $5,000
or under. An unnamed individual can give an unlimited amount
of these donations to a party and the amount of these only
comes in their annual reports. Of the $10,383,230.39
National got in the 2023 election, $6,003,941.05 came from
donations of $5,000 or under. Of the $4,769,395.26
that Labour got in the 2023 election, $2,889,810.26 came
from donations of $5,000 or under. So on top of getting the
biggest share of the broadcasting allowance, in the 2023
elections National, Labour, Act, Greens and NZ First got an
extra $24,607,405.60. The Free Palestine Party got $82,000
in Broadcasting Allowance this election.
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Last election
the Opportunity Party couldn’t get halfway to the 5%
threshold; current polling puts it at 6%. Some super rich
now approve of them, so they allow enough funding so Kiwis
know who they are. Do you wonder why the ordinary Kiwi has
been getting poorer and their share of the wealth Aotearoa
produces is getting less over the last 40 years? Or why the
richest 150 individuals in NZ increased their wealth by
26.35% or $27
billion dollars in the last 12 months. While the rest of
us suffer a cost of living crisis thanks to the Israeli/ US
war on Iran. Why well over 60% of Kiwis want Israel
sanctioned for 78 years of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and
genocide, but no NZ government has ever done anything about
it?
With the odds so stacked in favour of the super
rich, most of whom support the apartheid regime of Israel
and Western imperialism, you think that the Zionist lobby in
NZ might have just let our $82,000 in broadcasting allowance
go. But when you’ve been raised or believe in an ideology
and society that tell you you’re superior, you don’t
stand for criticism from people you consider less human than
you. The tactics of the Zionist lobby are the same the world
over and most mainstream news organisations don’t have the
courage or integrity to challenge them, no matter what
crimes against humanity they commit.
To TVNZ’s
credit despite some technical issues they had the courage to
run the few ads we could afford. NZME has no courage or
integrity and were completely gutless in face of the threat
of the Zionist lobby. But they went beyond just saying no,
they tried to tell us what political messages they would
allow us to tell Kiwis. They wasted our time until it was
too late to advertise elsewhere. Perhaps the ZB in Newstalk
stands for Zionist Broadcasting?
True to the tactics
the Zionist lobby has used overseas they’ve come after me
through my employment. They have made complaints to the
school I teach at and the Teachers Council to intimidate,
silence and make an example out of me to others.
But
the members of the Free Palestine Party and the Kiwis of the
Palestine solidarity movement in Aotearoa and around the
world can’t be intimidated. We will hold whatever
government is formed after November 7th to account. We will
continue until Palestine is free from the river to the
sea!
President
Free Palestine
Party
Aotearoa
