The Taxpayers’ Union
is calling BS on claims that
inappropriate spending of parliamentary funds by MP Harete
Hipango was the result of a “coding
error”.
Union spokesperson Jordan
Williams says, “A number of our staff used to work at
Parliament and would code expenses for MPs. To put it
politely, they say it is ‘implausible’ for Ms Hipango
not to know exactly what she was doing.”
"It simply
doesn’t ring true that a taxpayer funded television and
sofa, which ended up in the home of an MP, were wrongly
coded.”
“All transactions and the way in which
they are coded need to be approved and signed off by the MP
themselves. There is no accidental way to code a
parliamentary expense to your own personal living
room.”
“Taxpayers deserve to know how their money
is being spent which is why MPs offices should be subject to
the same transparency obligations as every other
Ministers’ office. We are today writing to the Speaker,
calling on him to release all information in relation to
Harete Hipango’s spending and whether she fronted up, or
only paid the money back after being told
to.”
If you're using Scoop for work, your organisation needs to pay a small license fee with Scoop Pro. We think that's fair, because your organisation is benefiting from using our news resources. In return, we'll also give your team access to pro news tools and keep Scoop free for personal use, because public access to news is important!
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else... More
Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More
Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More
Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More
Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More