<[link removed]>Hi Friend,
Day-in, day-out, the Taxpayers' Union is exposing government waste. Last week it was the Film Commission's $145,000 French Riviera bonanza. This week it was Health NZ bosses chowing down $60k of fine dining, including $32-per-canape. And there's more to come.
But we all know where the real waste is: the dark corners where the public isn't allowed to look. The parts of Government spending that happen in secret.
Parliament is the main culprit.
Not many people know this, Friend, but MPs' expenses are not publicly available, except when they are illegally leaked. In fact, while Ministerial expenses are free for all to see, what is "non Ministerial" and every expense applicable to opposition MPs, government backbenchers (so their staff/offices) is protected by a special carve out of freedom of information law.
We want to change that. But we need your support to force Parliament to 'Open the Books'. <[link removed]>
Wasting bucket loads on bubbly, Bali, and birdhouses? But you're not allowed to look?! 😵
Back in 2009, the UK had what became known as the "MP expense scandal". Armed with a CD Rom of transactions, the TaxPayers' Alliance (our UK-sister group) exposed UK Members of Parliament for truly outrageous 'expense claims'. They included:
- An ornate duck house for a pond ($3500 NZD)
- Moat cleaning ($4720 NZD) - yes, seriously!
- Hedge clipping of helipad ($1200 NZD)
- Treating dry rot at a second home ($48300 NZD)
- Furniture, homeware and electric goods, including three food mixers and two microwaves for just one MP ($35,000 NZD)
TIP OF THE ICEBERG EXPOSED: MPs taking the Mickey (with our money) 💰
Friend, last month we got a wee glimpse into how New Zealand's MPs are being just as reckless with the money they are entrusted with to run their offices and constituency work.
Te Pāti Māori MP Debbie Ngarewa-Packer managed to spend $39,209 on flights over just three months! And, thanks to some social media investigation work, it was evident that rather than flying to Hamilton, Ms Ngarewa-Packer had been serving constituents holidaying in Hawaii on your dollar.
We asked for more details – it's taxpayer money after all – BUT were told by Parliamentary Services to get lost!
You see, while Government Ministers are covered by freedom of information laws, non ministerial spending is still completely secret.
That means that other than knowing the total amount spent by an MP on travel, or on their 'office expenses', we are none the wiser about what it's actually going towards.
Remember former Minister, Tuku Morgan's $300 taxpayer-funded underpants? The public only learned about those because he put it on his Ministerial card, not his MP one. How many other MPs are doing the same thing, but we just don't know it?
There's also what are called the "Parliamentary Leader's Budgets" (applicable to every political party in Parliament with some in the millions of dollars). Last month Chris Hipkins took his partner to the UK and Europe using some of this money – but the costs are a state secret. How is that fair?
We say, if taxpayers pay for these 'leader's budgets', taxpayers ought to know what they are being used for.
That's why I'm asking for your support to force the Government to change the law and "Open the Books" on Parliament. <[link removed]>
Bill before Parliament is the opportunity taxpayers have been waiting for... 🙌
But for the first time, we have a real opportunity to fix their loophole.
Right now before Parliament is a Bill that changes how Parliament operates and MPs are funded. As it stands, it actually removes what very few safeguards are around MP's expenditure (for example, MPs won't need to get their Party Leader's permission to head off overseas).
But with one small change – to remove the carve-out Parliamentary Service's financial information from the Official Information Act – we could blow the books wide open.
Will you back us in this effort so we can publicise the issue, and ensure the Bill gets the public attention it deserves? <[link removed]>
New Zealand prides itself in being open and transparent. But most of the western world's politicians made their expenses transparent decades ago. It's time we caught up. <[link removed]>
Mounting a campaign like this means we're up against every political party in Parliament! But we can still win.
A tough campaign like this means we need big resources to give MPs no other option but to open the books. <[link removed]>
If MPs are allowed to continue to hide behind blanket figures, the door will remain open for abuse of expenses, just as we saw in the UK.
Friend, we're tired of asking Parliament nicely. Now's the time to shine a light on MPs' spending and blow open the books <[link removed]>.
We can't let this opportunity pass.
Make a secure donation ↩️ <[link removed]>
Thank you for your support.
Jordan Williams
Executive Director
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc. · 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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