Who's giving what: 2026 election donations explained
Political parties in Aotearoa New Zealand have to publicly declare any donation over $20,000 they receive during an election year. So far in 2026, those declared donations add up to $5.7 million, according to RNZ's political donations tracker, which uses Electoral Commission data. The figure is current as of Monday 17 August.
National is well ahead of the other parties. Its declared donations went up $634,000 in the most recent update alone.
Two donations of $250,000 each help explain National's lead. Nicholas (Nick) Mowbray, who co-founded the toy company Zuru, gave $250,000 to the National Party. The Electoral Commission posted the return form for that donation on 12 February 2026. (Electoral Commission) Rank Group gave National another $250,000 in the same period. Stuff had earlier reported Mowbray's donation and described him as a billionaire.
Labour is in third place, behind National and ACT. Labour received $100,000 from Richard (Dick) Hubbard, a former Auckland mayor who founded Hubbard Foods. The Rail and Maritime Union gave Labour $60,000, which moved the party ahead of NZ First in the tally.
The Electoral Commission also records a donation to Labour from David Silverman on 10 August 2026. (Electoral Commission)
Unions are still giving to Labour, but less than last time. In the 2023 election, unions gave $335,000 to Labour. National got no union money in 2023 but brought in more than $1 million from businesses that year. (RNZ)
Here is how the rules work. When a registered party receives a donation over $20,000 from one person or organisation during the 2026 election year, it has 20 working days to tell the Electoral Commission. The Commission then makes that donation public. It also keeps a separate page listing donations over $30,000. (Electoral Commission) Parties have to use a specific form for every donation they get in an election year. (Electoral Commission)
There is also a separate annual return. Parties had to send in their donation records for the year ending 31 December 2025 by 30 April 2026. That gives a slower, year-by-year picture alongside the rolling election-year disclosures. (Electoral Commission)
The 20-working-day waiting period is built into the rules, so it is not a sign of slow reporting. Someone who donated in late July will not show up on the public record until mid-August at the earliest. The $5.7 million total will keep changing as more returns come in through the rest of the election year.
The broader picture is that the donor landscape looks much like it did in 2023. National is getting large gifts from individuals and businesses. Labour is drawing from a smaller pool of individuals and unions, and union giving is down on the last cycle. ACT sitting in second place behind National but ahead of Labour fits the pattern of recent elections. National's $634,000 jump in the latest update is the kind of increase that usually comes from several returns being filed around the same time, rather than one big donation. Even so, the Mowbray and Rank Group donations are the largest single items in the current data.
