15 February 2007

Green Party clears the slate on AG's bill

The Green Party today presented a cheque for $87,082 to cover the amount identified in the Auditor General's report as being outside his interpretation of the rules.

Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons delivered the cheque to Parliamentary Services this afternoon.

"While we still believe that our spending was inside the rules as they were generally agreed to at the time, we want to start the new year with a clean slate and get on with the much more important work that Parliament should be focussing its attention on," Ms Fitzsimons says.

It is important to note that the Green Party will not have breached its spending cap under the Electoral Act even if this amount is included in our total election expenditure.

"While we still disagree with the Auditor General's reasoning and conclusions, we respect the Office of the Auditor General, but. At the end of the day he is the referee and we must abide by his ruling.

"The Green MPs and Co-Leader Russel Norman each paid their share of the amount from their own pocket while the party itself also contributed a large amount.

"We are incredibly grateful to our members and supporters who rallied around and helped to raise about half of the total amount. Without their help we could not have got this money together in such a short time.

"What is important now is that there is a process put in place to make sure the rules are clarified for the next election. The parties must work together to find a resolution that gives the public confidence that taxpayers' money is being spent appropriately and leaves all MPs able to carry out their duties and responsibilities as parliamentarians," Ms Fitzsimons says.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>