Hi Friend,

This email is about blowing the whistle on a dirty deal the big Australian-owned banks have done with the New Zealand Government.

It's complex, so it's not getting the media attention it ought to be. But it's important.

Summary: The Nats have done a deal with the big Aussie banks 🤫

Right now, National Party Ministers are pushing through Parliament a law change to kill off a major consumer class action lawsuit against ANZ and ASB – affecting tens, if not hundreds of thousands of New Zealand bank customers.

The law change is designed to protect the banks from having to potentially pay back hundreds of millions they may have wrongly charged Kiwi customers due to false disclosures.

You read that right: despite all the tough talk in public about taking on the Aussie banks, the Nats are slipping through a law to bail them out!

Regardless of whether you support the National Party, it needs to be called out.

Here's what you need to know:

• Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have joined a class action lawsuit against ANZ and ASB for allegedly unlawfully charging interest, fees, and making false disclosures that breach the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA). 

• The case has been before the courts for a few years, but not yet gone to trial.

• But now, thanks to fierce lobbying from the ANZ and ASB banks, the Government has slipped in a last-minute clause to a bill to retroactively change the law, making the banks’ actions legal after the fact.

• Even worse is the process. It's been revealed that while Government officials were in secret talks with the Banks, they were excluding the consumer representatives from providing the counter-arguments for the advice going up to Ministers/Cabinet.

Make no mistake, Friend, this a bank bail-out that directly cuts down the rights of consumers. And the "big banks only" policy process is banana-republic stuff.

Why is this an issue for the Taxpayers' Union? ✅

Friend, retrospective changes to the law - especially when they cut across a live court case – undermine the core principles of legal predictability that all taxpayers rely on.

And retrospective lawmaking to shield powerful, foreign-owned banks from legal action sets a terrible precedent: it tells taxpayers that Parliament is willing to rewrite the rules after the fact to protect the powerful at the expense of ordinary consumers.

In the same way, the Taxpayers' Union called out the Ardern Government for dumb decisions that undercut New Zealand's reputation as a safe place to invest and do business, it is no better when a centre-right government does it.

As I said in The Post back in May:

Few would dispute that the original CCCFA was flawed, but that does not justify eliminating legal rights after the fact without compensation. That’s not law reform. That’s rewriting the rules for the benefit of the powerful. It completely undermines the very image this Government claims to project: a safe and stable jurisdiction with dependable law-making.

You could perhaps argue that CCCFA changes should be backdated (i.e. to avoid/stop new claims being made), but to invalidate a live court case before it's even gone to trial – on the basis of a backroom lobbying campaign by the banks – is constitutionally disgraceful.

In promoting ACT's Regulatory Standards Bill, the National-led Government says it stands for good rule-of-law-based lawmaking. We say it should be held to the same standards it claims to uphold.

Lawmaking to protect the powerful at the expense of ordinary New Zealanders sets a terrible precedent: no court case should be determined based on who has better Government connections/lobbyists.

What we're doing to ensure the Nats see sense and stand with consumers – not the big Aussie banks... 🦘🤑

Earlier this week, we forwarded on to all MPs this (firmly tongue-in-cheek) "love letter" penned (*allegedly*) by ASB and ANZ banks to National Party Ministers.

❤️ You can read the leaked "love letter" (and leaflet) here. ❤️

Even backbench National MPs are asking: 

"Why are we doing this?" 😬

At last week's National Party conference, Tory and some of our local supporters handed out the letter to delegates and attendees. 

And, , the feedback has been telling: Grassroot National Party members, and even two backbench Government MPs (!!!) have quietly told us to 'keep it up' and said they support our efforts to call-out the Government on this issue.

One backbench National Party MP even agreed with me last week that highlighting this "dirty deal" is the Taxpayers' Union playing the "conscience" of the National Party.

So, let's run with that: Will you take a moment to ensure "good conscience" wins over the "big banks"?

Tell the Ministers to scrap this dirty deal to bail out the Aussie banks 📣

👉 Friend, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Commerce Minister Scott Simpson are the key decision makers on this Bill. We are reliably informed that NZ First and ACT have real worries with the retrospective elements – but the relevant Ministerial portfolios sit within National. 

Email the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Commerce, asking them to stand with consumers, not the big banks.

It's this sort of unprincipled law making that can really hurt a government. As has been made clear by respected financial commentators and the Law Society, these changes are not needed and are unprincipled. Let's ensure the Nats see sense and scrap the proposals.

We’ll keep you updated on this one.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Ps. As I explained in my recent opinion piece published in The Post, we think the CCCFA needs changing, it's the retrospectivity that we're opposing here. To add your voice, click here to email the Ministers.

Pps. Unlike the main Australian taxpayer group, the NZ Taxpayers' Union isn't funded by the big Aussie banks. We're reliant on you – and tens of thousands of others – chipping in so we can fight for lower taxes, less waste, and (as here) more accountability.