Boilermaker levies may draw new law

Press, 6 August 1981, Page 1

Boilermaker levies may draw new law

PA Wellington The Minister of Justice (Mr McLay) said yesterday that he intends to amehd the Incorporated Societies Act so that the Justice Department could inspect societies in the same way that they can inspect companies.

Mr McLay was answering a question by Mr I. McLean (Nat., Tarawera) who asked in ,an . urgent ’ question whether staff of the Justice Department could invest!-, gate.i?financial, discrepancies' of the Wellington Boilermakers’ Society. He also asked whether staff were investigating the society at present “while evidence is still available.”

It has been reported that 41 men on the Bank of New Zealand site in Wellington had contributed an estimated $103,000 — an average of $2512 each — to the society for various purposes in 1980. “It is my intention to bring forward legislation for enact-

ment this year amending the Incorporated Societies Act to provide inspectorial powers analogous to those contained in the Companies Act to cover such a situation,” Mr McLay said. If there had been any report of threats, fraud, or intimidation it would be for the police to act on a formal complaint, he said. The “Evening Post” .of Wellington on Tuesday recorded statements by Bank of New Zealand site boilermakers about death threats and intimidation in reaction to their questioning the society’s finances.

The financial affairs of the society, described on Tuesday by the President of the Federation of Labour (Mr W. J. Knox), as unsatisfactory, were to be scrutinised at a special meeting of the society’s executive last evening.

On Tuesday afternoon boilermaker delegates at the

bank site were called to meet Mr Knox and the F.O.L. national executive. The meeting continued for about three hours.

The “Post” said yesterday ■: that collections at the bank ■ site continued at least until ; July 22. Not all the men ■ were responding and those i refusing were allegedly being told by a delegate that they would be blacklisted by the society when the steel-erec-tion, contract ended.