The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer money.
Union Spokesman, Jordan Williams said, “We don’t know whether hackers – allegedly connected to the CCP – have the
information. But if so, it is clearly in the public interest for it to be released so that Kiwi taxpayers can know how
their money is being spent.
“In New Zealand there is a strange carve-out of official information laws that excludes politicians from the
transparency and accountability expected of government organisations and local councils. If we are able to get the
information via Chinese freedom of information laws, that would be a win for transparency.
“In the UK, it took data dumps and whistleblowers to blow the lid of their MPs expenses scandal. If the Chinese
Government, or anyone else, has the data, the Taxpayers’ Union will gladly receive it and make available the information
to the public.The Taxpayers’ Union runs a confidential tip line via https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/tip_line and email [ tipline (at) taxpayers.org.nz ] and does not disclose sources."
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