The party above the law

Bryce Edwards reports:

New revelations this week show Te Pāti Māori still hasn’t produced an auditor’s report for its 2023 financial statements of political donations. The party told the Electoral Commission that a “delay with the auditing firm continued to be a problem” in explaining why its 2023 accounts remain unaudited. This was reported yesterday by BusinessDesk’s Denise McNabb – see: Still no sign of Te Pāti Māori audit report (paywalled)

This excuse comes despite Te Pāti Māori having already paid the audit firm for the work, and it highlights a troubling pattern: the party has repeatedly failed to comply with basic electoral finance laws. Te Pāti Māori’s ongoing issues with late and incomplete financial disclosures – from annual accounts to donation returns – raise serious questions about its commitment to legal obligations and political integrity. The general public should be concerned that a party which aspires to represent Aotearoa’s indigenous voice is also gaining a reputation for flouting the rules meant to ensure transparency and trust in our democracy.

Why would they bother to comply with the law, when the Police give them a free pass? The way you get compliance is to haul the party secretary into court. Instead the Police have closed the file, despite TPM now being almost 10 months later (and after three weeks it is meant to be escalated to a more serious offence).