What might you expect to show on a political party’s annual return to the Companies Office for the structure through which the party exists?
Some of the things I’d expect to see are membership, donations and fund raising coming in and rent or rates, wages, stationery, postage, advertising, power and GST going out.
But as Keeping Stock points out an article in this week’s Listener by David Fisher explains New Zealand First Incorporated has been filing nil returns for 15 years.
I read the whole story in the magazine which is not yet on line and was left wondering:
1) Does the party have another vehicle which does have income and expenditure?
2) If so who knows about it?
3) If not how are the party’s operations funded?
4) Do party officials know anything about the running of NZ First?
5) If not who does?
Homepaddock 
I see Whaleoil has been undertaking similar enquiries with respect to the Labour Party.
the same questions can be asked in relation to the incorporated society that manages its property affairs and whil having a mortgage, and leasing commitments seems according to returns not to have income or expenditure.
“All animals are equal except some are more equal than others”!
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Yes indeed. WhaleOil’s initial post was a carbon-copy of the one on Keeping Stock (fair enough, considering I had given him a heads-up!!), but he has redeemed himself for the lack of a hat-tip with his further investigations. Inventory’s honour is considered satisfied. It seems however as though NZ First not only lacks honour, but also accounting practices, income, expenditure and most significantly, credibility!
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Of course if the incorporated society is only the trustee for the real owners, that might explain the lack of any income or expense. A (secret) trust actually owns the assets.
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[…] Listener in response to David Fisher’s story about New Zealand First Incorporated on which I blogged a couple of weeks […]
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