Posts by Graeme Edgeler
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to merc,
3 month investigation time for a 6 month limitation
It wasn't a 3 month investigation for a 6 month limitation. It was a 3 month investigation for a 10 year limitation. There was no possibility of a charge having a six month limitation period because that had already long-expired.
Local electoral laws and general need to be aligned and policed by a section of the Courts.
Democracy demands it.That is not what courts do. Not in common law countries anyway (and not really in civil law countries either).
Democracy also usually demands a separation of powers, not their merging in one body.
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to Ana Simkiss,
I’m a bit less impressed than Graeme with the investigation. Basically that is because (1) I am uncomfortable with factual conclusions being confidently expressed and unqualified where the evidential basis is unclear and (2) the Police appear to have set themselves a very high threshold to lay charges.
(1) I note that particularly in my post on the matter. Police have mucked up these claims in the past, and I’m not necessarily comfortable with them “smearing” Banks given he won’t have the legal opportunity to clear his name. But on face value, the investigation appears thorough.
(2) I think I’d blame Parliament for that, not the police!
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to Bart Janssen,
Certainly didn’t realise there were different time limits for different crimes which kind of makes sense. Bit silly in this case because it would be hard to make a complaint until all the documentation was made public and even then hard to wade through it enough to realise there might be something fishy.
The equivalent offences in the Electoral Act, applying to general elections, both have three year time limits.
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to merc,
What is the public good in allowing anonymous donations? Seems this can be easily cleared up by not allowing them, then the declaration would be real easy.
If politicians don't know who is giving them money, they can't do them any favours.
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to Bart Janssen,
But I thought there was something legal about the act of putting your mark on a document. Along the lines of “if you sign it you affirm that the contents are true”.
There is. And Banks could have been charged with filing a false return without taking proper care if this matter had arisen early enough. But it didn't, and all police could investigate was whether Banks had knowingly filed a false return (because they time limit for charging someone with that much more serious offence is much longer).
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to Lilith __,
And this wasn’t done, because…?
Because no-one even complained until something like 16 months after the alleged offending.
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Another side issue here: Do The Police actually care less about enforcing electoral laws? I’ve got my doubts, and not for the first time have to ask if it’s time to give the Electoral Commission some teeth?
From my reading of this investigation, I conclude that the police have done exactly what we would hope police would do when investigating such a complaint.
They have:
* looked into the case
* conducted interviews with witnesses
* worked out what they believe they can prove
* assessed their evidence against the legal requirements of the offences they can apply
* ignored the legal requirements of offences they can't apply
* and done all of this in ca. 3 monthsWhat more would anyone like them to have done in this case?
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A law that cannot hold a candidate responsible for a document he has signed is a law that needs to be changed.
The law does allow candidates to be held responsible for the documenst they sign.
If you can charge them within six months.
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Hard News: John Banks: The volunteer did…, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
This is the form Banks filled out.
That is not the form Banks filled out for the 2010 Auckland Mayoral Election. That's the form he would have filled out for the 2011 General Election.
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Legal Beagle: Johndotbanks - the law is…, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
Do similar laws apply to tax returns?
Different rules apply to tax returns.
:-)