Large Donations

Just checked out the Electoral Commission page for donations above $30,000 (which must be declared within 10 days) and there have been three this year:

• ACT – John Boscawen $52,335
• National – Susan Chou $100,000
• ACT – Louis Crimp $100,520

Boscawen is of course the parliamentary leader of ACT. Chou has donated previously to both National (2010) and Labour (2008) plus to humanitarian causes.

Louis Crimp is an Invercargill businessman, whom I’ve blogged on previously. He stood for ACT in 1996. He also recently donated $1m to St Johns, and other causes:

When Invercargill businessman Louis Crimp had a car crash he was so touched that the St John staff treating him were volunteers he later decided to give the Southland branch $1 million.

He will hand over the cheque today. The massive donation follows a string of monetary and land gifts the philanthropist has made to the community.

In 2007 Mr Crimp paid more than $1m for a city bungalow which had been renovated as a fundraising project for Hospice House in Invercargill, with almost $800,000 of that going to the hospice.

Mr Crimp has given $200,000 to the Southland SPCA since 2008 while, in May, he gifted a residential section formerly owned by the Mongrel Mob to the Habitat for Humanity organisation.

I applaud people willing to donate their money to support policies or parties they believe will be good for New Zealand.