Key to decide where English has his primary residence
Posted by Trevor Mallard on September 8th, 2009
One of the interesting quirks of Key’s decision on the funding of ministerial residences is that he will now have to decide where Bill English has his primary place of residence.
We know that English has lived in Wellington since at least 1996 and for a period before that when he worked for treasury, went to university and before that went to secondary school.
Key’s call is going to be interesting.
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I wouldn’t get my hopes up, Trev.
Key has pulled off one of the biggest snow jobs ever.
He’s decided to just give them the money and throw out all the rules so that he never has to answer another question about ministerial housing ever again.
Out of interest, is this change something that Labour will look at revising on return to power?
$$$$$$ I think Bill will be living under a pile of $100 Bills$$$$$$$$$$.
Why not require all MP’s, Ministor or not, to live in their electorate!
What a shemozzle this is turning into. Problem is, the Nats deserve electoral punishment for this blatant rorting and duplicitous self-entitlement but there’s unlikely to be consequences because it’s too early in the electoral cycle. If Labour had been similarly exposed last year, it would have been a huge story. A year on and that nice Mr Key gets away with this.
Mr Mallard, I note you are cleverly avoiding making reference to Mr Goff owning a property in Wellington while taking a full accommodation allowance to live in Wellington.
Tim – Phil is an Auckland resident. Everyone knows that. His ownership of property is not relevant. The question is where is Bill English’s primary place of residence. I don’t know one other person prepared to say it is Dipton.
Nathan – Probably doesn’t need revising – just honesty.
I’m just interested to know Labour’s thoughts on the new “bulk funding” (I guess is the term for it) method, I can sort of see pros and cons. It’s gotta be easier to administer, but you can also see how some people could make out like pirates. Can’t see them bunking down at a backpackers, but sharing a house for single ministers would be a good way to spin some coin!
Dont forget at a National party conferencea while back , Bill was lauded as the former Chairman of the Lyall Bay branch of the National party. lets hope he wasnt ‘billing’ them for his travel costs from Southland.
Interestingly when down South where does Bill operate from. Queenstown is recently in his electorate, my guess is we pay for him to stay in Queenstown when visiting his electorate.
Would be much cheaper than the Wellington accommodation arrangements but I’m sure he wouldn’t be silly enough to claim for both.
Robin @12.21 Because some don’t have electorates, because sometimes boundaries change. I’m happy for voters to decide – but there must be transparency.
Bill English should go – what he has done is downright dishonest, legal maybe, but certainly not the actions of a man of honor or integrity.
Very disappointing
What electorate is Bill registered to vote in, and is wife and any eligible children also registered in that electorate? If he is registered at his Dipton address and mainly living in Wellington surely that is a breach of the electorate act. If he is registered in a Wellington electorate then that is his home.
Nope, according to NZ law:
You may stand:
in a different electorate from the one that you are enrolled in, or
in an electorate and, at the same time, be on a party list, or
in either a M?ori or a general electorate seat irrespective of your race or ethnicity.
You may not stand for more than one electorate or be on more than one party list.
link: http://www.elections.org.nz/rules/electoral-law-links.html
Apologies, link should be http://www.elections.org.nz/rules/candidates/ceo-nomination-of-candidates.html
Janice, it is not as simple as that. He is entitled to be registered to vote in Clutha-Southland because of the operation of section 72(6)(b) of the Electoral Act:
But that section applies only for purposes under the Electoral Act, and Parliamentary and Ministerial expenses are not paid under that Act – which is why English is potentially in a sticky situation here.
Thanks Toad – no doubt on that -two separate issues he is fine on Electoral Act.
my only concern with Bills situation is “why DID he not have his name as an owner of the house .. indeed I think he took it off”. He didn’t actually answer that.
Maybe he should be made a list MP .. that should sort out the problem .. Trevor may have thoughts on that that maybe helpful.
Being a list MP wouldn’t make any difference. He has declared that Dipton is his primary place of residence. Key now has to decide if he is telling the truth.
but as a list MP, he wouldn’t need to spend so much time in Wgtn. He is the Deputy Leader and Min of Finance after all and I can’t imagine being in Dipton would be helpful. (he has also been Leader of the Party in the past so don’t be too harsh).
The main reasons I voted National last November were for some financial competence and some honesty from our government. If English is rorting the system he should get the boot. I have had enough of the crap.
Hello Jabba.
Being a list MP is not a disbarring of higher postion in any political party, or cabinent. Dr Brash lead the National party into the 2005 election as an list MP, just as an example. Had he won, Dr Brash would have been a list MP prime minister.
Whether or not Dipton is Bill English’s primary address, and who decides this issue, is the point of this post.
I wonder if his place in Dipton has any squatters yet…
sorry Sean .. I was in a hurry and got confused.
What I meant was they should make him a List MP so he couldn’t really claim to need to live anywhere but Wgtn.
English is being disingenuous in claiming Dipton as his home. It may have been where he was born & bred and where he may still (possibly) have family and own a second property, but as a university graduate he would surely have moved elsewhere for employment were he not an MP. One can’t imagine a B Com and a BA (Hons) in English Literature being requisites for employment in Dipton.