Opposition targets white-collar crime

Press, 5 July 1988, Page 6

Opposition targets white-collar crime

By

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

The Opposition will mount a new attack on white-collar crime in New Zealand with the proposed introduction to Parliament of a private member’s bill, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, said in Christchurch yesterday evening.

In an address to a Lyttelton National Party electorate dinner in Christchurch, Mr Bolger also promised that he would present further evidence of widespread white-col-lar fraud when the House • reconvened next week. He attacked the Government’s handling of investigations into earlier allegations of fraud, claiming that the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, had resisted “with uncommon frenzy” attempts to hold an inquiry while his departmental resources were inadequate to handle investigations. “I shall present evidence of many individuals who have suffered at the hands of a few — and that few continue to prey on an unsuspecting public. I shall ask the Minister and his department about their real understanding of the level of unhealthy business transactions,”

said Mr Bolger. “I fear that their comprehension is so distinctly limited as to be dangerous to an already ailing investor confidence. I will recommend to the Opposi- » tion caucus that a private member’s bill is drafted to institute an inquiry into all matters connected with the detection of white-collar crime.” The proposed bill would be based on similar Australian legislation to combat corruption and whitecollar crime. “The inquiry will not only assess the relevance and strength of present Government agencies in this matter. It will also analyse specific legislative changes which can halt unsavoury business practices and protect the public.” Mr Palmer had failed to set legal ground rules for the new competitive economit environment es-

tablished by the Minister of Finance in 1985. “When rogue elements seek to exploit the weak and defenceless and engineer tax and legal loopholes on which to feed on such persons, then it is a necessity for a responsible Opposition to expose such dealings,” said Mr Bolger. “When a whole range of persons from the Criminal Bar Association to Bob Jones support such a call, it is plain that Mr Palmer and his Justice Department advisors are out of step with the business community and the public.” He described the Government attitude to contributory mortgage schemes as “too little, too late.” The ability to halt the use of excessive valuations on property or protect investors until the end of the year was still missing. “If a contributory mortgage company goes to the

wall in the interim, blame a Minister of Justice who has delayed such regulations since September, 1986, when he promised urgency,” he said. Mr Bolger criticised the Corporate Fraud Unit established in 1985. “Doubtless Mr Palmer will argue that the Justice Department’s commercial affairs division also gets involved in detecting white-collar crime. But when that department is engaged in some internal war and there are not enough solicitors or accountants to process workloads, then it is difficult to have confidence in such a gathering,” said Mr Bolger. “The real point is that they are so inadequately resourced. So many legislative holes exist that white-collar crime is rampant in this country and has the capacity to escalate further.”