Public Good - Te Iwi Whānui

  • Home
  • About us
    • About public good
    • Who is Behind Public Good?
    • Write for Public Good
    • Join us
      • Funding
  • Public Good Articles
  • Resources
    • Public Good Networks in NZ and around the world
  • Democracy
  • Events
    • Conference 2018
  • Sectors
    • Arts and Culture
    • Children
    • Education
      • Tertiary Education
    • Employment
    • Government
    • Health
    • Justice
    • Sustainable Business
    • The Economy
    • The Environment
  • Sex and Gender
You are here: Home / The Panama Papers in New Zealand

4 April 2016 by Jan Rivers

The Panama Papers in New Zealand

Today journalists from across the world, and co-ordinated through the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists,  have started to publish stories from the biggest ever leak of commercial information. All the prospects are that the flood of information will continue over the days and weeks to come. There are more than 11 million documents which “show heads of state, criminals and celebrities using secret hideaways in tax havens”.

Meanwhile New Zealand has had a well known problem that has been unaddressed for years that means we are a haven for channelling the money of tax avoiders and profits of criminals just as readily as the well-known tax havens like the Channel Islands or Cayman Islands.

Transparency International’s 2013 National Integrity System Analysis said specifically “An overly permissive regime for company incorporation has allowed “shell companies” involved in questionable activities to incorporate in New Zealand. An IRD report of 2013 came to the same conclusion

The Transparency International report recommended amongst other things “establishing registers that record the owners or beneficiaries of companies and trusts” (page 335)

Meanwhile in 2014 the government committed to a response to the TINZ National Integrity System’s report’s recommendations as part of the Open Government Partnership Action Plan 2014-16.  Almost two years later NOTHING has happened to achieve this.

It gets worse though. In a paper on emergent themes for the next iteration of New Zealand’s Open Government Partnership Action (2016-18) plan this important issue of a response to Transparency International’s report (and the possibility of more open company transparency) has fallen off the radar without ever being discussed.  With the Prime Minister arguing strongly that there is no problem as he did today “blind” companies and trusts are unlikely to be on the agenda no matter the cost to our international reputation for integrity.

There is another concern that arises if no action is taken to correct this in company law loophole in the near future. If the TPPA comes into force could it be too late for the government to take action? Is it too far-fetched to imagine our country being threatened for compensation for loss of profits or ‘expropriation’ by shadowy individuals acting on behalf of political &commercial tax avoiders and criminals because making company  and trust ownership transparent would wreck their lucrative business models? So long as they have an office in a TPP or most favoured nation country the way would seem to be open.

Having just read Christchurch IT entrepreneur Dave Lane’s extremely perspicacious select committee notes such a dark possibility no longer seems far-fetched. Dave identifies that the very point of a document which runs to 6000 pages of impenetrable text is to provide a life-time meal ticket for corporate lawyers, and opportunities for corporations and powerful private interests to employ them, to monster elected governments.

In the meantime over the past three years the government have forced well run, open and transparent New Zealand owned financial institutions and businesses to be closed down because top heavy regulatory overheads meant that they couldn’t meet the government’s new governance and probity requirements. Examples are the ethical investment company Prometheus, various friendly societies which have had to amalgamate and locally owned and run superannuation schemes as well as crowd sourcing prediction software i-predict.

The contrast could hardly be more ridiculous. Well run companies are forced to close while we host the world’s tax-avoiders, criminals and their shady deals. All the while government commitments go unmet and, despite the evidence and the prior commitments, the Prime Minister denies that a problem exists.

The PWC position statement for Prometheus shows it was trading profitably

Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged With: Democracy

hands around the world

Latest on Twitter

Public Good – Te Iwi Whānui Invitation: Family violence - working through a complex problem. - eepurl.com/g-pGBX

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Public Good – Te Iwi Whānui Invitation: Family violence - working through a complex problem. - eepurl.com/g7kMpn

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Public Good – Te Iwi Whānui Invitation: Family violence - working through a complex problem. - eepurl.com/gWiCsD

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Public Good – Te Iwi Whānui Invitation: Family violence - working through a complex problem. - eepurl.com/gDsUIb

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Invitation: Next Friday 26 July Family Violence: Working our way through a complex problem. at St ANdrew's on the Terrace Professor Dawn Elder & Dr Ben Gray from Otago Medical School Wgtn publicgood.org.nz/20…

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Public Good – Te Iwi Whānui Invitation: Family violence - working through a complex problem. - eepurl.com/gxvfAz

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Glad I've been reading @caitoz who from Australia & with no insider knowledge has been outlining the farce of Russiagate, She and others have some well earned praise. caitlinjohnstone.com…

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

A few last minute spaces if this sounds like you. Mindful people build the future. Starts Sunday 5.30 - 7.00 at St Andrew's on the Terrace in Wellington. Could there be societal impacts of widely adopted meditation? Could those impacts include you? scoop.co.nz/stories/…

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Public Good – Te Iwi Whānui Invitation to Education and Political Literacy in New Zealand - eepurl.com/gkvnkj

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

@AnneliseJoy @radionz a) its a news website - publicly funded addressing an issue about a bill that has been withdrawn b) to the right of the article there are more stories written from an uncritical pro trans view c) You are claiming fear,ignorance & hate? I don't see that. What are you seeing?

From PublicGood-ANZ's Twitter

Follow @PublicGoodANZ

Recent Facebook Posts

No recent Facebook posts to show

Latest on Facebook

Newsletter Sign-Up

What Public Good is about

  • Universal public services are one of the strongest weapons in the fight against inequality Public Services International
    Civil Society Statement on World Public Service Day 2015
  • We think that democracy is about more than ensuring that our electoral system can add us to the voter register and count our votes accurately. Public Good Website

Dig Deeper

Contacts

Authorised by Jan Rivers
Wellington 6012
New Zealand
Email
Text/Ph: 022 126 1839


Public Good Website by Rosemary Neave
Web2blog.co.nz

Join our Monthly Email List

givealittleGive a Little to support Public Good

Latest Comments

  • Prue Hyman on An Open Letter about Green Party MPs trying to prevent advocacy for women’s rights.
  • Glenda Gale on An Open Letter about Green Party MPs trying to prevent advocacy for women’s rights.

Copyright © 2023 · Executive Pro Theme on Genesis Framework