Dick Smith writes: Re. “Dick Smith is an exemplary candidate for Arsehat of the Year” (Thursday). In an article in your publication, David Salter has claimed that the $1 million donations attributed to me may not have really happened. Here is his wording:

“Or does he? Do the media ever check whether all those millions, so breathlessly reported at first, are actually paid out as promised? We’re still waiting.”

I have asked my financial people to produce a list of the $1 million or more donations with the date of the donation and the recipient. You can read the list here. Perhaps David Salter could contact the organisations listed and verify that they received the money.

You may also like to send David the list my staff recently prepared showing the donations that have been given to humanitarian and refugee causes. Then again, that may not be a good idea — it will make him even madder! I would love to see his list.

By the way, the reason I don’t keep the donations secret is that I am simply fulfilling an obligation — that is to put something back in because I have done well financially. I don’t know why you would keep “obligations” secret.

Of note, the recipients of the $9.189 million (as at August 31, 2017) given away by Dick Smith Foods are listed on the Dick Smith Foods website and can be easily checked.

David Salter may be pleased to know that the $41 million received from the sale of Australian Geographic from Fairfax has now all been donated to important causes. David is welcome to visit my financial people and go through the recipients, dates and receipts if he doubts that.