Hutt South Labour has to start disclosing union sweetheart deal

Stuff reports:

The Electoral Commission has ordered the Labour Party to declare the cheap rent it pays for its office in Petone as a donation. …

Electoral Commission rules, published in the commission’s candidate’s handbook, say that goods and services received at a discounted rate are treated as donations.

The commission has said that the rule applies in this case, and the rent subsidy must now be declared as a donation.

This has been the law for well over a decade. Labour shouldn’t need an Electoral Commission ruling to do the right thing and disclose the sweetheart deal.

The Labour Party has also been making a healthy profit of the electorate office. Stuff also revealed that it had recently been subletting the office to the local Labour MP for $6000.

Parliamentary Service pays the rent for MPs, meaning it pays the Labour Party $6000 of which $1500 is passed on to the NZPFU in rent, with Labour pocketing the difference.

Parliament’s rules allow such subletting arrangements. For the purpose of Parliament, the party is just another commercial property company renting office space to an MP.

It’s a clear conflict of interest. The Labour Party is making a huge profit by subletting it to their own MP, so they can use the money from the taxpayer to fund her campaign.