2026 election donations: National leads as declared gifts top $5.7 million
Declared political donations of $20,000 and above in the 2026 election year have reached $5.7 million, according to RNZ's political donations tracker, which draws on Electoral Commission data. The figure, current as of Monday 17 August, places National well clear of the field — the party's declared donations rose $634,000 in the most recent update alone.
Two $250,000 donations anchor National's position. Nicholas (Nick) Mowbray, co-founder of toy company Zuru, gave $250,000 to the National Party, with the Electoral Commission hosting a dated donation return form for the contribution on 12 February 2026. (Electoral Commission) Rank Group made a second $250,000 donation to National in the same cycle. Stuff had previously reported Mowbray's contribution, identifying him as a billionaire donor.
Labour sits third in declared donations, behind National and ACT. The party received $100,000 from Richard (Dick) Hubbard, a former Auckland mayor and founder of Hubbard Foods. A $60,000 donation from the Rail and Maritime Union also went to Labour, nudging the party ahead of NZ First in the declared donations tally.
The Electoral Commission's donations page also records a donation to Labour from David Silverman on 10 August 2026. (Electoral Commission)
Union giving to Labour, while still present, is tracking below the 2023 baseline. In the 2023 election, unions gave $335,000 to Labour. National received no union donations in 2023 but drew more than $1 million from businesses that cycle. (RNZ)
Under the disclosure rules, registered parties must tell the Electoral Commission within 20 working days when they receive a donation over $20,000 from a single donor during the 2026 election year. The Commission then publishes those donations. It also maintains a separate page listing donations exceeding $30,000. (Electoral Commission) A specific donation return form must be used for every party donation received in an election year. (Electoral Commission)
Annual party donation returns for the year ending 31 December 2025 were due to the Electoral Commission on 30 April 2026, providing a separate, slower-cycle picture alongside the rolling election-year disclosures. (Electoral Commission)
For those working in Parliament and party organisations, the tracker is the closest thing to a real-time read on donor behaviour the regime allows. The 20-working-day lag is built into the rules, not a sign of slow reporting. A donor who gave in late July will not appear on the public record until mid-August at the earliest. The $5.7 million total will keep moving as returns are filed through the rest of the election year.
The broader context is that the current snapshot looks broadly continuous with 2023. National is drawing large individual and corporate gifts. Labour is drawing from a narrower base of individuals and affiliated unions, with union contributions running behind the last cycle. ACT's second-place position in declared donations — behind National but ahead of Labour — fits the party's fundraising pattern in recent cycles. The $634,000 increase in National's declared donations in the latest update is the kind of jump that usually comes from a batch of return filings landing at once rather than a single donor event, though the Mowbray and Rank Group donations are the largest individual items visible in the current data.
