Request for Investigation into the New Auckland Council Trust .
From Grace Haden
Sent: Monday, 16 December 2013 11:08 a.m.
To: Bruce Thomas (Bruce.Thomas@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)
Cc: Councillor Christine Fletcher (christine.fletcher@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz); ‘Cathy.Casey@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz’ (Cathy.Casey@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz)
Subject: Complaint with regards to receipt of donations
Good morning Bruce.
I hereby make a request for investigation into the New Auckland Council trust in accordance with section 15 of the Local Electoral Act 2001
the New Auckland Council trust was used to pass on sums ( according to the herald ) of $273,375 this year and $499,000 in the 2010 elections to Len Brown .
The local electoral act in its interpretation section 103 a states
anonymous, in relation to an electoral donation, means a donation that is made in such a way that the candidate who receives the donation—
- (a) does not know the identity of the donor; and
- (b) could not, in the circumstances, reasonably be expected to know the identity of the donor
The “New Auckland Council trust” is not identifiable , it is not a person in the legal or natural sense , it is like Santa clause. How do we know it exists ? How do we know it is not just a made up name to conceal the identity of the persons behind it .
Without proper identification or proof of existence the new Auckland council trust is just another name for anonymous yet it is being treated as though it is a ( legal ) person
If it is a trust Various possibilities exist , Mr Brown could be the settlor, the trustee and the beneficiary/ how is the trust set up? Is he being honest with us he wasn’t honest with his wife ?
Are the provisions of the deed legal in any sense? or is it just an excuse to hide money ? How would anyone know to make a donation to it, by what means do these people make donations to it ? blank envelopes ??
The New Auckland council trust is not registered under any legislation which would make it a legal person in its own right or gives it legal existence separate from the people who the trading name or act as its trustees .The name needs to be clarified to use the name as though it is a real person is identity fraud.
In many aspects the new Auckland council trust is like Santa and while we sometimes don’t know who “ Santa” is we generally know with a high degree of certainty who is posing as such.
In the case of secret Santa we generally know what group this secret Santa belongs to and we can show our gratefulness to that group .
Therefore what evidence is there that Mr Brown doesn’t know who is represented by the new Auckland council trust and how do we know that he does not feel obliged to them.
As a private Investigator I have done substantial work on a group called the committee for Auckland , a recent LGOIMA request revealed that 63 out of the 72 members of the committee for Auckland hold contracts with council . This group of contractors play a vital role in the running of council and even advise council, their future and their existence depends on a mayor accommodating them, -could they be the new Auckland council trust, the name certainly fits their intent as they were the very people who promoted the super city and pushed for it.
Intuitively I believe that this “ new Auckland Council trust “ could well be a cover name for the committee for Auckland so as to lend its support to Mr Brown and I believe that Mr Brown would know that the money came from them for his continued support .
Mr Brown appears to condone the use of fictional trusts and believe that he point blank dismissed investigation into a similar “ trust” the animal welfare Institute of New Zealand ( AWINZ )which operated from council premises and used council resources for the personal pecuniary gain of the manager of the dog and stock division because investigation into AWINZ would also bring about questions into the fictional “new Auckland Council trust” both have a lot in common they are both fictional and are a cover for corruption .
There is a requirement for transparency and by using a name of something which cannot be proved to exist Mr Brown has not made an accurate declaration on his return .Fiction has no place in election returns Mr Bron is a lawyer he knows the principles behind the existence of a legal person and as a lawyer he also knows how to circumvent the law.
Section 112 A requires the name of a donor .. something which does not exist cannot donate , neither can it have an address. I further request that an investigation be conducted as to why 112A was not complied with
Unincorporated trusts only exist through their respective trustees and there is therefore a need for the trustees to be identified on the return as the persons who gave the donation and if it is from a trust there is a need to show that this trust deed is legal and intended the recipient to be Mr Brown and not others . (how do we know that the deed has been lawfully executed if the deed exists.. other beneficiaries i.e. mayoral candidates could well have missed out )
I there for request that urgent investigations are undertaken into the New Auckland council trust to establish, its legal existence, the identity of the settlor, the trustees and identify the beneficiaries and have this information disclosed publicly in a transparent manner 103C Donations to be transmitted to candidate– makes it clear that the donations are transmitted through a person.. the new Auckland trust is not a person it is a bunch of words strung together to give the illusion of the existence of a ( legal ) person
I also request that in accordance with section 103F Identity of donor to be disclosed by transmitter, if known is complied with it requires accountability on the transmitter, where the donation is made through a phantom trust or a fictional being there can be no accountability or obligation , one has to question how something which does not exist can transmit a donation.. who is the person who acted and why are they hiding ?
I also request this matter to be passed on to the Police for an investigation into whether or not this trust which I believe is run by the committee for Auckland is being used to influence contracts and governance of Auckland.
Should the trust not be identifiable and the deed not forthcoming I ask that a declaration is made that the money was received anonymously and treated in accordance with section section 103j for transfer into the general account .
I request this investigation in terms of section 15 of the Local Electoral Act 2001 for both the 2010 and 2013 mayoral campaigns
In the interest of transparency I am publishing this request on the transparency NZ blog
Regards
Grace Haden
Phone (09) 520 1815
mobile 027 286 8239
visit us at www.transparency.net.nz