The Chinese Donorvirus is spreading fast, now Christchurch mayor, Lianne Dalziel, is under investigation by the SFO for some allegedly dodgy donations:
Police have referred a complaint about Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel’s election expenses to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Dalziel, who defeated Darryll Park and John Minto in October to win her third term as mayor, was criticised for failing to identify donors who made significant contributions to her campaign.
Electoral law dictates candidates can accept anonymous donations under $1500, but must disclose the names of donors who contribute more than that sum.
Dalziel is currently flying back from making an apology in Japan to relatives bereaved by the February 2011 earthquake, and it is unclear whether she is aware police have passed their concerns to the SFO.
The Christchurch City Council has been contacted for comment.
Minto made the complaint to electoral officer Jo Daly in December after Dalziel’s election return listed only her husband, lawyer Rob Davidson, as a donor at a campaign fundraiser in July.
But after coming under public pressure she revealed the names of six people who donated more than $1500 at the dinner by buying auctioned wine for prices higher than market value.
All six have connections with Davidson, and many have links to China.
Among them was Davidson’s China-based business partner, as well as a businessman who has property interests in Christchurch and owns a Chinese-speaking newspaper in New Zealand.
One donated $17,000 – more than 11 times the $1500 limit that must be declared under the Local Electoral Act.
The SFO said on Friday it had received a referral from police in relation to Dalziel’s expenses.
“The SFO will be assessing the matter and has no further comment at this time,” a spokesman said.
Stuff
It looks like silly old John Minto has done us all a favour.
But there will be many, many MPs and councillors around the country who will be crapping their daks over this development. One in particular will be Philip Bruce Goff the current mayor of Auckland. His donations return for 2016 showed that more than half of his donations came from cash raised at auctions.
Phil Goff is now also under investigation for those donations:
Hours after announcing the Dalziel probe, the SFO said it was also looking into Goff following a similar referral from police about election expenses – meaning authorities are investigating potential election fraud by the leaders of the country’s two biggest councils.
Goff said he had “no knowledge” of a complaint being referred to the SFO, nor of any irregularities.
Stuff
So, Goff is going to try using the Bridges Defence aka the Sgt Shultz Defence. Not sure that is going to work out well for him. I wonder how long it will be before both him and Dalziel step aside whist under investigation?
Auctions are a way used long and hard by politicians to launder donations. Labour has used it extensively. John Key held and supervised such auctions and other National MPs have too.
This Donorvirus may prove as virulent as the Aussie citizenship scandal that engulfed politicians across the ditch. It is going to spread like wildfire to any politician who has involved themselves in these sorts of auctions, or who has associated with people who have been charged. They are all going to find themselves under a microscope.
Phil Goff also looks to have infected himself by associating with patient zero as well:
We have a problem in the body politic of New Zealand, and in coming months I suspect it is going to get a lot worse. We cannot sweep this under the carpet. We have one political party that looks like it has sold out to Chinese interests, one mayor under investigation by the SFO and another mayor who has used similar fundraising activities. Politicians in the past have also been busted for using the auction artifice; the most prominent was David Cunliffe and wine auctions from Donghua Liu.
All politicians who have run allegedly dodgy auctions, meanwhile, will be quaking in their boots.