Another Rodney column
August 28th, 2012 at 7:14 am by David FarrarRodney is on fire at the moment. His NBR column on the Meatworker Union accounts is excellent:
I was recently told about some serious spending by the New Zealand Meat Workers Union that surprised me. It was so surprising that I thought I should check it out. No problem. I would just look up their audited accounts that the Registrar of Incorporated Societies would hold. That way I could determine if the story I was told was true. I was shocked to learn the accounts aren’t there. The meatworkers have four branches and for the past seven years have only been disclosing the capitation fees paid by the four branches to the national body. For the year ended September 2010 the disclosed income was $712,370. The total income to the union is several million dollars a year. That’s a failure over the years to disclose tens of millions of dollars
Whale has blogged extensively on this in the past. The union thinks it can hide the income and expenditure of its branches by pretending they are not part of the incorporated society. But this is clearly wrong. The law states a union must be an incorporated society.
The law is clear. To be a union, an organisation must be incorporated. And incorporated societies must file annual financial statements that members of the public can inspect. The advantage of incorporation is that it gives a legal personality separate from the society’s members. In return, members of the public can inspect the society’s accounts. But I can’t for the Meat Workers Union. Neither can you. And that’s been the case for seven years.
Sadly, the authorities are not exactly holding the union to account
Parliament has provided the registrar with the power to require records. So I wrote to the registrar pointing out the meatworkers’ failure. I suggested he use his power to get the branch records for the last seven years and make them publicly available. That was back in May. The registrar is Neville Harris, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development, which is part of a new super ministry. He advised me that he had been aware of the meatworkers’ failure to disclose their accounts since November 2011. My information was not news to him. He explained he had been in contact with the union and was following up with the objective of having it file a “revised financial statement” that includes information relating to the activities of its branches. I have had no explanation why he doesn’t just demand the branch records and why he is speaking of just one financial statement singular when there are several years missing. It’s a complete mystery to me why the registrar just doesn’t demand the branch records and made them publicly available. After all, that’s the law’s requirement of unions and incorporated societies. Mr Harris and I now have had quite a correspondence. I can report that I am no further ahead than when I started. This month he advised me that he has decided the way forward is to obtain an opinion from an external accounting expert and to endeavour to resolve this matter on the basis of that advice. I have no idea why the registrar is seeking that advice. The problem is not an accounting one. It’s a legal one. The simple requirement is that the Meat Workers Union and its branches are required to disclose to the public their income and their expenditure and they aren’t. The person in charge of making sure they do is Mr Harris. Parliament has granted him the power to ensure they do. He is refusing to use that power. Instead, he’s working with the union to get them to file and is seeking accounting advice. Heaven only knows why.
I agree it is simple. The Registrar states you have until x date to file corrected accounts and a failure to do so will result in deregistration. Companies get automatically degregistered for late annual returns, so why does a union get away with seven years of inadequate returns?
Related posts:
- The Meat Workers Union accounts
- Unions accounts
- SFO complaint laid about Meatworkers Union
- More problems for Australian Labor
August 28th, 2012 at 7:33 am
Why doesn’t Rodney blog on the findings of the Savings working Group, or would this upset his friends (property investors, infrastructure providers and developers)?:
Savings Working Group – Final Report | 47
Vote:The relationship between migration flows and housing prices has been analysed by Coleman and Landon-Lane (2007). They found that a net immigration flow equal to 1% of the population (10 per 1000 inhabitants) is associated with an approximately 10% increase in house prices. This relationship has existed since the 1960s. Limiting immigration swings could therefore lead to a substantial reduction in future house prices and housing debt.
Migration and total private-sector debt
New Zealand’s population growth rate in recent decades has been rapid by international standards;from 1990 to 2007 it was the third fastest in the OECD.
A country with a rapidly growing population needs to devote resources to building more roads, schools, shops, houses, factories and so on than a country with a low rate of population growth. In a country with a relatively low national savings rate, rapid population growth will put sustained upward pressure on real interest rates and, in turn, the real exchange rate, making it harder to achieve the per capita income gains that people (and the government) aspire to.
August 28th, 2012 at 7:41 am
Rodney upset about non-disclosure – who would have thought!
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 7:43 am
hj – What doe’s that have to do with the article? Or is it that you can’t possibly justify the actions of the union in not filing correct financial information as it is legally required to do so you go after something completely unrelated?
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 7:46 am
It will be interesting to see what the political response is (if any). If a public servant is refusing to comply with the law, or showing recklessness / incompetence, what is the public recourse? Unions violate the law and there is ‘discussion’ and an accounting opinion is sought (at taxpayer expense). By comparison, someone forgets to file their annual return on time and they get fined / deregistered. How does that fall within the socialist concept of ‘fairness’ again? At what point does legal redress against the Registrar to actually do his job apply? (and probably end up feeling like an own goal).
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 7:50 am
And f course this means that any sum whether it a dollar, or a million dollars spent lobbying for Labour during an election is being spent without a scintilla of accountability. I’m not opposed to them lobbying for the party of their choice, but I understand ‘transparency’ over election spending is a central plank of the said party’s philosophy. Nothing worse than ‘shady big business’ rigging elections eh?
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 7:52 am
b1gdaddynz (53) Says:
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 7:43 am
hj – What doe’s that have to do with the article?
…………
The article is about truth and justice but Rodney is selective in where he focuses the big brain.
August 28th, 2012 at 7:53 am
It would seem that, for unknown reasons, Mr Harris is relying on the civil service backstop of obfuscation, stalling & writing pointless letters while offering supplication to the Almighty for a change of government before the mess blows up in his face.
His actions/inaction begs the question of what is so important that requires so much effort to keep under wraps. Let’s hope that our host & others can get the union accounts exposed to a little sunlight before Labour get a chance to push everything back under the mat.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 8:03 am
So, hj, he should write on every single wrong or evil in every single column he writes, in order to satisfy you?
I sense an overdose of stupid right there.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 8:10 am
hj has some weird bee in his or her bonnet about landlords and property. You can skip his/her comments without loss; reading them will just make you confused.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 8:10 am
It is a shame that when he was leader of ACT he got such a hard time in the media that his views and those of ACT were silenced. His views haven’t changed, neither have ACT’s, maybe with more peopel seeing the real Rodney they will also see teh real ACT and realise that voting National wasn’t the best option.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 8:11 am
“His views haven’t changed, neither have ACT’s,”
You sure about that? With John Banks as ACT’s only MP.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 8:27 am
Why would it be assumed that Harris is acting in anyway other that by using the normal procedures – pretty unfair attack when Hide doesn’t have all the facts only the opportunity to put the boot in. The union may have a totally different interpretation of what their obligations are which may yet be tested in Court if IRD don’t agree. Of course this all arose from Talley’s locking out it’s own staff, yet we now see the attention focused on a Government employee with the presumption he isn’t doing his job correctly – without even knowing the facts. Dirty stuff.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 8:38 am
Nostalgia-NZ
Which part of an Incorporated Society’s obligations are sufficiently ambiguous to cause doubt to a senior & experienced civil servant? If he’s really up a tree on this one maybe my ‘Googling’ skills could assist him. Ref: http://www.societies.govt.nz/cms/incorporated-societies/financial-statements
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 8:44 am
John banks is a conservative Cristian
Vote:Act was a liberal party
The liberal social views held by act were central to its platform as was its neoliberal economic views.
both of these things are not the views of its only mp
Chuck b may be right and brash or those in the background killed it. all I know is that its dead
It may take time for the buildup of toxic waste inherent in any ruling party for us to see a splintering of the present national party
There is still a vacuum to the liberal side of national and enough voters with liberal views for a reemergence of a new liberal right party
balanced of course by the conservative cccp There are politicians such as Hide Garret and Cactus All that is needed is a valid party around them. who knows what is being discussed in the background. If a new party is to have an effect in the coming cycle a new liberal party would have to start pushing a platform now. I can not see act reviving unless they shed Banks and those that pushed him on us not impossible yet not likely
Not having the full spectrum of views represented on the right is under utilizing the potential of demographic representation under MMP. In some ways the success of national is counterproductive for us on the right
August 28th, 2012 at 8:55 am
“The article is about truth and justice but Rodney is selective in where he focuses the big brain.”
No it’s not. It’s about compliance with the statutory requirement to file audited accounts.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 9:03 am
This is a bit ironic in the same way David Garrett wrote a guest blog on law and order.
I would have thought ex ACT MPs and officials should be last people in New Zealand commenting on suspect financial reporting.
Maybe Whale should spend more time looking into business people and the financial sector than the poor Meatworkers Union.
It hasn’t been an easy 12 months for meat workers and their Union. They work very very hard.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 9:08 am
Pass the tissues!
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 9:11 am
From a distance I’m unable to say Nasska, but you may be aware of the correspondence between the parties. Of course Rodney also doesn’t know but that hasn’t stopped him picking out Harris as though he is complicit in the Union not filing their returns. I seem to recall a position that may have been stated by the Union about the affiliation, or non-affiliation of different societies to which union members belong. Perhaps Rodney should take it up with them, after all, from his view, they are the party that is non-complying.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 9:17 am
You could be onto something their Griff. Rodney appears to have been ‘looked after’ to some extent since his departure from Parliament – he or others might consider that there could be an opportunity for him again, possibly in Epsom. He could be returning to his once held tightly ‘perk buster’ form in the preliminaries, it’s worked before, not only for him – but in the bigger picture for the ruling government.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Unions operate under the rule of our law, or are supposed to. They are incorporated societies therefore, them’s the rules. Rules which they consider don’t apply to them. A company would have been deregistered a longtime ago. Its automatic.
Shine a light upon them. Or is this also part of the Bill Yui coverup along with the Maritime fella’s.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 9:24 am
Nostalgia-NZ
Rodney is no longer an MP & writes his column as an ordinary taxpaying citizen. As such it is not his position to approach a Union or anyone else directly concerning their obligations under law. Probably a similar situation to where we are supposed to call the police rather than arrest & question suspected burglars ourselves.
So I’m afraid that Mr Harris’ position in the hot seat is likely to continue.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 9:36 am
Rodney and Whale are right.
Vote:As a one time CEO of a Public Company (Unlisted) for many years heaven help us if we failed to deliver on time (we always did). As a Private Company owner later, similarly.
We always received a reminder prior to filing as well.
August 28th, 2012 at 9:56 am
There would be no quarter given to a business lobby group if anything dodgy-looking was found in their accounting. Imagine the blue murder my fellow lefties would be screaming. So the political left should expect none here.
If you do everything right and keep your own house in order, then you’ve got some credibility when you criticise someone else’s dodginess.
If you’re going to criticise secret big business interests for supposedly sinking big money into their political campaigning, you shouldn’t have shady undisclosed millions flowing through / into your own political organisation. I would have thought that was pretty obvious…?
[And I gotta say - Rodney was one of this leftist's least favourite right MPs when he was in Parliament, but since leaving he has gone up in my estimation pretty much every time he has opened his mouth or put pen to paper. ]
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 10:07 am
RRM – Well Put!
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 10:13 am
Hold on Nasska, Rodney is employed as a quasi reporter, particular with this piece which is clearly not opinion. He could have approached the union for comment, he expects what is probably private information from Harris – then selects a story out of it which slams Harris. If he’s able to attack the union from a distance without having the information – why wouldn’t he just front up and ask, or write to them if he doesn’t have the constitution. Additionally what about Harris’s rights, he is essentially being maligned for doing, for all intents and purposes, his job. Despite admitting that some things are a ‘complete mystery’ to him, Hide doesn’t hold back on blaming Harris without knowing what he can possibly be blamed for, but assuming there must be something.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 10:26 am
Hold on Nasska, Rodney is employed as a quasi reporter,
Well in my estimation that makes him NZ’s best reporter, but in fact he offers comment on issues and is not a reporter. As such he has been correct and Harris and the unions are wrong.
That’s the Law. Rodney didn’t make them up nor is it his job to enforce them but like many things illegal it behoves citizens to report that illegal activity.
As it does Harris.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 10:29 am
“He could have approached the union for comment, he expects what is probably private information from Harris – then selects a story out of it which slams Harris. ”
There is nothing in the story that suggests that he is seeking private information. He is seeking information that the union is obliged, by law, to file with the registrar of incorporated societies. The union is avoiding doing this by suggesting that the information does not belong to an incorporated society but to a “branch” although it does not explain what this ethereal entity is a branch of. The union also has a further problem. It cannot pretend that its funds are held by a branch which is not obliged to post its accounts.
See section 14 Employment Relations Act 2000
“Application by society to register as union
(1)A society that is entitled to be registered as a union may apply to the Registrar of Unions to be registered as a union under this Act.
(2)An application must be made in the prescribed manner and must be accompanied by—
(a)a copy of the society’s certificate of incorporation under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908; and
(b)a copy of the society’s rules as registered under that Act; and
(c)a statutory declaration made by an officer of the society setting out the reasons why the society is entitled to be registered as a union.”
See section 23 Incorporated Societies Act 2008.
23Annual financial statement
Vote:(1)Every society shall deliver annually to the Registrar, in such form and at such time as he requires, a statement containing the following particulars:
(a)The income and expenditure of the society during the society’s last financial year:
(b)The assets and liabilities of the society at the close of the said year:
(c)All mortgages, charges, and securities of any description affecting any of the property of the society at the close of the said year.
(2)The said statement shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by some officer of the society to the effect that the statement has been submitted to and approved by the members of the society at a general meeting.
(3)If any default is made by a society in the observance of the provisions of this section, every officer of the society shall be liable to a fine not exceeding [10c] for every day during which the default continues.
August 28th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Nostalgia-NZ
Rodney will be engaged as a columnist, ie. one who writes opinion pieces. As such he would be in a similar position to say Michael Laws writing for the SST or a cartoonist like Tom Scott. These people have no obligation to provide balance, a duty the left wing MSM journalists find onerous enough even when reporting the news.
I would suggest that Rodney in no way maligned Mr Harris…..he simply drew to our attention the convoluted manner in which the Registrar of Incorporated Societies was investigating the lack of returns from the union branches.
As others have commented above, there seems to be little in the way of grey areas when the law is being applied to private citizens & companies. It is probably the contrast that invited an opinion piece to be written in the first place.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 10:45 am
Maybe it is time to go over his head and start writing to his boss asking what is going on?. Or are there things going on which we are not privy to?
Should one write to the minister, or should one win lotto contact a lawyer and start a judicial review for the Meat Workers union to be de-registered?
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 10:56 am
I am still laughing at some clown’s comment earlier that Rodney had been “looked after” since leaving politics…that would be news to him…and when I last checked, neither the NBR nor the Herald nor Radio Live took instructions from the government or the governing party regarding who they should hire as columnists or radio hosts…
And just so all the jackals can relax, there is not a snowball’s chance in hell of me ever returning to politics…I care about my kids too much to subject them to that again.
Rodders? He says not, but who knows…
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 11:00 am
Nostalgia: “… why wouldn’t he just front up and ask, or write to them if he doesn’t have the constitution.” Surely you are being deliberately obtuse.
Nookin has already pointed to your “private information” red herring when what are required from the Union, by law, are financial statements that are intended to become part of the public record.
Now you’re suggesting that Rodney Hide should obtain a copy of the Union’s constitution to enlighten him on requirements for an incorporated society to file financial statements annually. You know very well that the constitution is not the source of the Union’s legal obligation to file financial statements. That obligation derives from statute, not from the Union’s own governing rules.
Why are you wriggling so strenuously in an attempt to defend the indefensible?
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr … ‘a fine not exceeding 10 cents per day’ for non compliance. Hardly an incentive and perhaps even a disincentive. $36.50 p.a. and it might be worthwhile to hold out on something you didn’t want to make public.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
It’s ironic that a former ACT leader is complaining of a lack of transparency considering that his former Political Party is guilty of the same lack of disclosure. Surely it’s a case of the kettle calling the pot black.
Vote:P.S. Since when did classical liberals develope a social conscience?.
August 28th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Nookin and others. The return goes to the public record, if and when it gets filed, but the suggestion that Harris is sitting on his hands, or dealing with it in a way that might be seen as pandering to the union, is now on the public record. Correspondence between the parties I’d assume is private, and I’m not sure why Harris made any comment at all if the matter remains unresolved and perhaps likely to go to Court.
I’m not so sure about the idea of alleged ‘opinion’ pieces not needing to provide balance, in fact I’ve had a recent experience where that was not accepted by a particular newspaper as reason not to provide balance.
Just because I’m reiterating that we don’t know what the Union’s position on it’s status, that isn’t disagreeing with the statutory requirement to file a return. For all I know, and which Hide has also admitted is a ‘complete mystery,’ the union position may be consistent with their view of their obligations. The point is guess work remains guess work until there is proof otherwise, particularly so with guess work arising from a ‘complete mystery.’
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Nasska,
Vote:Thank you for your wise comments. They are appreciated.
My point is that people who are entitled to join the Public Service Association seem to be taking an exceedingly lenient approach to left wing miscreants.
1. Like, Matt McCarten who has more than once been involved with companies that do not pay over the PAYE deductions that they hold in trust.
2. Like, the Meat Workers’ Union’s inadequate annual financial statements on file.
An independent bureaucracy; I am no longer so sure.
August 28th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Kevin H P.S. Since when did classical liberals develope a social conscience?
If by that you mean a “socialist” conscience…one that thinks that robbing Peter to pay Paul because Paul has “needs” is moral and right then the answer is never. CL’s know that if you protect individuals and their rights the abstract of the “social” takes care of itself….no force required…
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Nostalgia-NZ,
Their actions appear to give light to a view on their part that they shouldn’t have to abide by the law. Perhaps they see it as a class thing.
Vote:August 28th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
If any parties need to disclose anything its Winnie first,then the Greens then Labour….
Vote: