Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Should we be outraged at the dinner charging $10k to sit with Luxon?

Right, let’s talk about the National Party accidentally letting slip that they’re selling tables at a dinner with Christopher Luxon.

The story is that the Mainland Dinner will be held in Christchurch next month and if you have a few thousand dollars spare, you can go along.

Dinner at Chris Luxon’s table will cost you $10,000. Dinner at a minister’s table - a senior minister’s table - will cost you $8000. And then just a dinner with, you know, normal punters, normal civilians, will cost you $5000.

Now, we only know about this because Maureen Pugh shared a copy of the invitation on Facebook - not her first mistake. Newstalk ZB saw it, then it was deleted, but by then it was too late, and cue the outrage.

Now, I’m not outraged by this at all, because this has been going on since at least John Key’s time. Jacinda did it as well and I don’t think it’s any different from every other example we have in our democracy of cash for access.

This is how power has always worked. If you have money, you get access to people in power. Money for lobbyists, who then secure you meetings with ministers. Money for donations that mean candidates make time for you. Money for tables at the Mainland Dinner.

In fact - and this is my personal opinion - I quite enjoy reading about these dinners because they give me a real-time market valuation of a political leader. Luxon is selling his table for $10,000 in 2026. Four years ago, in 2022, he was selling it for $15,000. So he’s running at a discount at the moment, isn’t he?

Jacinda was selling tickets to a conference where ticket-holders could have access to her for $1800. That was five years ago. So she was more valuable at $1800 in 2021 than Luxon is right now - or than he was a year later - if you break it down and look at the cost a seat.

John Key - now, if you want to hear about a baller - sold a table at a dinner for $100,000. That’s real market political valuation, isn’t it?

Now, this is why I think this is valuable. It tells us how much voters and stakeholders:

A) like various leaders,

B) want to be seen with them, and -

C) rate the chances of those leaders being elected and therefore being useful.

So make of that what you will when you look at the numbers. But if you are outraged by this, you’re going to be outraged forever because cash for access will probably never change.

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