The following is a guest submission by Mike Francis-Roberson of New Zealand. This is Installment Three and the final installment for Part One.View OneView TwoTHE CULPRITSFrom the outset of this lone twenty year battle to find truth and justice I came up against deliberately created obstacles and delaying tactics placed in my path, mainly by either corrupt government Ministers, ordinary and weak politicians (or would-be politicians), devious bureaucrats and other government agency or quasi-government agency employees out to do their master's bidding; "just following orders" - as Hitler's henchmen whined during the Nuremburg trials at the end of World War II.
The number of times the reasons of 'mislaid files' or 'lost documents' reared their fallacious heads is incalculable. Even Winston Peters' Wellington office had one of my files go missing at one point in the investigation – and he was assisting me to get to the bottom of what has been described to me by a prominent politician as 'a Murray McCully whispering campaign'.* There was also the incident of the office break in.
Our offices in Auckland experienced a burglary one week night. The police established that it must have been children looking for a quick profit on saleable items such as cigarettes, liquor and easily carried electronic gadgets.
As someone with police training the writer is curious to know why the unopened carton of two hundred cigarettes and several bottles of spirits in a wooden wall credenza cupboard with no locks, a small portable television set (upturned on my desk, but otherwise intact), plus several electronic gadgets in office drawers were untouched. The only real inroads that were made were into the locked steel filing cabinets containing confidential documents relating to our clients. The filing cabinets were prised open with a crow-bar or something similar and the papers strewn over the office floor. All this just prior to the general election. Kids..? Yeah, right!
'Abuse of power is tantamount to corruption'.
To name just a few of the administrations involved: the Justice Department; the Department of Internal Affairs and the Inland Revenue Department and the Government itself in creating and then putting into effect the dirty tricks with no holds barred; the objective...to bring down those who have the courage, the determination and, in the eyes of the 'Bullies' as I have labelled them, the fortitude to expose the truth and the shameful behaviour of those involved. These sad individuals are supposedly the guardians of the People within New Zealand – instead their real function is simply to line their nests and then to protect them with every abusive act within their power; 'abuse of power' hardly describes their average day.
The Corruption Chronicles takes the lid off the clandestine political dirty tricks brigade. Their intention is to expose those individuals who work in concert to destroy the lives of fellow politicians and ordinary folk; the strategists who cook up the public relations-inspired whispering campaigns of career and reputation destruction. They may not care who or how they hurt – but it's our function to care and, in turn, to make them care. These writings name names and outline the dirty deeds of the perpetrators and how they go about putting them into effect, all with the express intention of protecting their own 'Power Patch'.
• As this is being written, McCully is the New Zealand Foreign Minister. At one time he was the Minister for Tourism, but he was removed from that job; does anyone remember why? Prior to entering Parliament, he was a lawyer and principal of a major public relations company.
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."- Abraham Lincoln
These chronicles were begun in August 2009 and in the six weeks to the middle of September two members of the New Zealand House of Representatives (there are 120 in all) have seen the inside of a courthouse on corruption charges. A third, a Cabinet Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs, was drummed out of his Ministerial post and then forced to resign over a sexual matter in which he is alleged to have sent inappropriate texts and letters to a female.
However, that's another matter with a cloud over it in more ways than one.
Could it be that the Hon. Dr. Richard Worth, former Minister of Internal Affairs was the victim of yet another political dirty trick?
Did someone want him off the political scene too; and if so, for what reasons? Ironical really when we consider that the author of these Corruption Chronicles was himself the victim of a similar whispering campaign, in all probability, created by a man who is now a Cabinet Minister, and put into effect by a top civil servant within the Department of Internal Affairs.
The same man who later boasted in an inter-departmental memo to his bosses that he had "succeeded in bringing about the downfall" of the politician they feared; due, perhaps, to his popularity and effectiveness?
This Government man, through his dishonesty and connivance, destroyed not only Gary Knapp's reputation but mine too, together with my family home, my business, health and almost broke up my marriage of twenty one years (to 1990). Could it be that the shadowy figures behind oak doors had a good reason for removing Internal Affairs Minister Worth in 2009? Ironical that, although not apparently connected, it should involve the very same Ministry - 19 years later. Ask the deposed Gary Knapp or the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters what they believe is really the truth about these all-too-similar political coups and you will, in all probability, have your eyes opened wide. The destruction of these two men's political careers takes on such similar form that it is unlikely to be mere coincidence: and the same whispering campaigner is still skulking in the shadows.
I couldn't believe what was happening to me back in 1989 when the affair broke in the media. At first it had the appearance of a storm in a tea cup with the media reacting like a coiled spring by launching into a feeding frenzy and cashing in on Gary Knapp's name and charisma. Each time it seemed to be abating, again a release of statements from the Department of Internal Affairs fanned the flames of destruction for Knapp.
Essentially how the majority of the newspapers and the alleged 'reasonable treatment', open-minded, impartial television programme Fair Go handled the issue would leave any journalist worthy of the name reeling. The following anecdote would be a perfect example of the standard and skill of the professional style used.
'A Harley biker is riding past the zoo in Auckland when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion's cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the collar of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents. The biker jumps off his Harley, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch.
Whimpering from the pain the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and the biker brings her to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly. A reporter from a prominent New Zealand newspaper has watched the whole event. The reporter addressing the Harley rider says, 'Sir, this was the most gallant and brave thing I've seen a man do in my whole life.'
The Harley rider replies, 'Why, it was nothing, really, the lion was behind bars. I just saw this little kid in danger and acted as I felt right.' The reporter says, 'Well, I'll make sure this won't go unnoticed. I'm a journalist, you know, and tomorrow's paper will have this story on the front page... So, what do you do for a living and what political affiliation do you have?' The biker replies, 'I'm an SAS member and a New Zealand First Party supporter.' The journalist leaves.
The following morning the biker buys the paper to see if it indeed brings news of his actions, and reads, on the front page:
'SAS MAN ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT AND STEALS HIS LUNCH'..!
Which pretty much sums up one section of the media's approach to news these days.
It also sums up the approach by the mainstream media over the Knapp and Roberson affair. They got it wrong...very wrong. As did former Labour Prime Minister Mike Moore who, a few years later, apologised to me once I had explained the truth to him. He had previously openly criticised Knapp in Parliament but, as he later admitted, "Mike I'm so sorry, I did bad mouth Garry in the House - I didn't have the facts then".
Moore asked me to convey his apologies to Gary Knapp. He told me that much of his opinion of Knapp was "based on what I had seen and read in the media". I thanked Mr. Moore saying that I would indeed pass on his comments, adding that it was a pity he hadn't come forward a few years earlier, it might have saved Knapp's political career and my reputation.
Mark Twain said "Get the facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please".
The problem here was that few, if any, within the mainstream media actually got the facts. I'm personally still waiting (19 years later) for Anna Kenna, then a prominent television broadcaster with the 'Fair Go' programme team, to visit me to view the files I promised would be open to her when she came past my house that day on her way north to speak to the one and only alleged complainant about the Knapp-Roberson Community Project consultancy Garry and I ran together. Her phone call to me earlier in the day was to ask me questions regarding our cost structure used in fund-raising projects. She asked if she could call in to our offices to interview me. I readily agreed and guaranteed that our records would be wide open to any scrutiny. Simple, I knew full well that everything would be found to be squeaky clean and not riddled with overcharging as was being alleged by some anonymous claimant!
I never saw Kenna, nor anyone from Fair Go that day, or since.
But the producers did manage to air a one-sided programme that same week after having interviewed the 'complainant' – in reality it was the patsy set up to make Knapp look as though he was ripping off charities. This was not the case, I was the one dealing with and handling all the money that went through the business while Knapp was in Parliament in Wellington – so I knew how everything was done...because I was the one handling this side of the business. I signed the cheques in conjunction with an independently nominated officer from each charitable organisation. So much for an unbiased Fourth Estate.
In addition, the government department charged with the responsibility of overseeing projects in which our consultancy engaged examined each and every event and project we undertook. So, the question remains 'how could we overcharge without it being noticed by the Department of Internal Affairs'? To that point in time (1988) I and my associates had organised something in the region of sixty projects.
Each one of these projects had to be vetted by the watchdog Internal Affairs prior to the event getting 'on the road' as a fund raising project. At the completion of each all details of the event, including separate audit carried out by an approved chartered accountant, were required to be handed in to Internal Affairs within one month of the date of the event.
In addition, and as if these requirements weren't enough, our consultancy was required to provide New Zealand Internal Affairs with an annual audit encompassing ALL the projects undertaken throughout the year. From this it can be clearly seen that each project undertaken by the partnership was vetted not once but TWICE by watchdog Internal Affairs. No exceptions were ever found by I.A. over a five year period.
[It is interesting to note here that when, under the New Zealand Official Information Act, I requested that Internal Affairs provide me with copies of those annual audits their answer was...an apology - but they couldn't find them!
Five years of audited documents had strangely disappeared with no explanation from the one government department charged with policing and safeguarding the Public Interest. Could it be, perhaps, that the very documents I was seeking might have provided the evidence that my commercial activities were, in reality, squeaky clean? I'll leave you to judge.]
P.S. These Corruption Chronicles are based on 56 kilograms of documents and correspondence obtained under the New Zealand Official Information Act.
My wife Jill and I handled the main business trust account together – from 1984 to 1990 there would have been anything from $100,000 to $1,000.000 dollars in the account during any one month. Back in the 'eighties these were considered fairly substantial sums. This was in addition to separate trust accounts that had been set up by each of our clients with their bank prior to the project. This was a requirement of ours from the outset of the partnership in 1984, the object being that all financial transactions should be clearly visible and all details made available to our client.
So you see each organisation and its chief office-holders were signatories to the bank account; thus they were in control of the financial operation all the way through. There was absolutely no chance of taking anything greater than the agreed consultancy fee. The whole media issue was a storm in a tea cup fabricated to make Gary Knapp the politician look bad through his commercial business – actually run by me and my wife while Gary was in Parliament. Gary's former wife, Lee also assisted to keep an eye on things in her husband's absence.
The media have a lot to answer for in this episode because they saw Gary Knapp as a charismatic target to sell their wares. – newspapers and advertising air-time. The only two publications that printed anything resembling the truth were 'Investigate' magazine, published by Ian Wishart, and the Auckland Sunday News. To each I shall be eternally grateful.
Wishart constantly receives criticism from certain quarters for some of the stories appearing in his publication. But then, when we analyse which of his publication's articles get the most mud thrown at them, we discover that the subject matter is invariably the questionable behaviour of THOSE IN POWER. And the criticism mostly comes from THOSE IN POWER...Funny that!
It has been noticeable that those flinging the mud tend to be either the New Zealand Establishment, media competitors or individual writers envious of the magazine's success. Success possibly due to the fact that Investigate publishes the facts – about topics that some would rather see covered up.
Staff writer Simon Jones from Investigate spent a day with me going over the files and documents and then checking the facts against publicly held records; I believe he obtained documents and correspondence under the Official Information Act. However the article in Investigate was not published until June 2000 – five years after the event that shattered our lives and far too late to have any real beneficial effect.
The Auckland Sunday News' feature writer, Greg Ninness also wrote a couple of articles that conveyed a large proportion of the real facts to the People of New Zealand. These two articles were in the October and November 1994 issues of Sunday News – but still four years after the event with not too many people interested now that Gary Knapp had left the political stage. Less interested that his unknown business partner had experienced the destruction of nearly everything he had worked for during the previous thirty years. The political monster had lashed its tail, crushing all before it – even the innocents; my family was severely and undeservingly caught in the backlash.
What Sunday News' Ninness uncovered in connection with the 'Secret Report' and how it found its way into a District Court judge's chambers, through the Official Information Act and also, as a good investigative journo should, by foot-slogging the pavements and personally digging into things, was astounding.
When Ninness interviewed the Auckland District Court's Senior Deputy Registrar, Judith Simpson she told him: "A Court official had acted without legal authority". "We accept that we called for a report where there was no specific authority for us to do so. "
When asked how such a thing could have happened she stated: "I cannot account for it. The officer concerned (a Deputy Registrar of the Court) can't remember and we're not in a position to make a final conclusion on it".
We have to help each other to defend against abuse in the system; vulnerable people are being rendered without remedy and rights!
You will have to draw your own conclusions on the matter of the Secret Report and how it found its way quietly under the judge's black robes. However, to assist let me ask this: Why would a Court Registrar in Auckland call the Secretary of Internal Affairs in Wellington (New Zealand's capital and seat of government) and request a report on two businessmen he didn't know and couldn't possibly have had any personal interest in, and for no apparent reason?
We can only conjecture that 'someone' in Wellington made a 'first' phone call to 'someone' at the Court in Auckland and directed them to 'request' that a report on the two business partners and their commercial operation be created by Wellington and then sent to the Court in Auckland.
All somewhat convoluted I admit – and all very Machiavellian I agree – several people, including two lawyers came up (independently) with this possible scenario. It is likely that we will never know the real story. It is true to say, though, that it required the collusion of a Black Robed Devil to make it work.
It is just a shame that the New Zealand media didn't do a better job of seeking out the truth and reporting it to the People of New Zealand at the time. In my opinion it would have made a much better story – it still would.
However, I don't blame the media totally for their transgressions because the inflammatory information was originally fed to them by a member of the Department of Internal Affairs. How were they to know that it was a tissue of lies? Secretary Richard Stubbings, the man who wrote the lying report that was covertly handed in by his messenger to Ross Malcolm Elliott, a District Court Judge (now deceased) in Auckland is where the finger must be pointed.
Judge Elliott himself turned out to be a piece of work, as these Chronicles will later reveal. Twice in Court on charges of sexually interfering with children, two juries couldn't agree. Corruption inside the New Zealand Establishment and judiciary...who ever heard of such a thing?
Stubbings abused his authority when he made unauthorised, unlawful statements to the press gallery in Parliament (I have this on reliable authority directly from a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery) and through Stubbings' media contacts nationally, knowing them to be false. I am advised that this act alone would be viewed very seriously by a judge as malfeasance.
Internal Affairs Secretary Stubbings' agenda was, very simply, to fan the flames under Knapp's butt with the Secret Report just prior to a general election.
Stubbings' objective, led by the nose it is believed, by his bosses - including the National party's machinating strategist lawyer Murry McCully. There are others too who we'll identify later.
McCully was wary that the East Coast Bays seat, previously held by Gary Knapp, could easily slip out of his own grasp and back into Knapp's lap. McCully's function was to come up with a dirty trick that would be likely to cause Knapp to lose votes in an electorate where he had won twice – the second time in a landslide against former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Don Brash.
(Oh yes, Knapp had upset some top Establishment grandees by demonstrating his popularity with the People of New Zealand).
The Nats (National Party) wanted the East Coast Bays electorate and would stop at nothing to hang onto it. After all, wasn't it Knapp who had snatched it from the National party after a very long tenure. Brash was a dismal failure - as he was as National Party Leader some years later - and so something had to be done to keep Knapp out at the next election. Thus was born the idea of a report on Knapp's commercial activities that had to contain damaging stuff. The Secret Report, covertly slipped into the file for the judge to see before the hearing set annually to renew the pairs' licence to function.
Both the Nats and Labour were becoming frustrated by this man who, it appeared, was too strong to be pushed by fair means at the polling booth.
It was Dr. Thomas Sowell, author and senior fellow at the Hoover Institute who said about government, “It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong”.
When my former business partner and I appeared at a hearing in the Auckland District Court to answer spurious 'complaints' over the way we conducted our community projects consultancy, and an alleged breach of a Gaming regulation, even our legal advisers commented that the worst we could expect was a slap on the wrists for being ignorant of a small regulation of which even the Department of Internal Affairs wasn't aware! No business I've ever been actively involved with has ever been guilty of anything other than straight up and down dealing. I'm not a great liar – I don't have a good enough memory.
What we didn't know at the time was that not only had the 'complaints' been a set up to create an impression of 'bad business activities' (I never did establish, nor have I to this day, what the alleged complaints were supposed to be over, nor who it was who was supposed to have lodged them) but, unknown to me a secret document had also been passed to the judge in a covert file – without my knowledge or that of my business partner or, indeed, of our legal adviser.
We knew nothing of this document, later described as the 'Secret Report', until more than two years after the judge had deemed Gary and I 'not fit and proper persons to hold a licence'. [Our main business activity as a community projects consultancy was to raise funds for charitable trusts, schools, guiding and scouting organisations].
The whole affair was finally shown in a (second) Appeal Court hearing to be a total frame-up of the two business partners, using covertly created documents filled with lies and quietly handed to a judge – all to get one of partners out of the New Zealand Parliament and out of their hair. It obviously doesn't pay to be an honest politician.
What's that I hear you shout...there's no such animal?
"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." --George Washington
Part two of the Corruption Chronicles will reveal a great deal more about the lives, habits and behaviour of some of New Zealand's most prominent and shadowy figures, some still floating the corridors of influence. One thing is certain however, the writer of these chronicled events, having experienced at first hand the viciousness of the talons wielded by those who would hold on to power at any price, is in no way prepared to do anything but see this issue through to the bitter end.
I want justice and compensation for my family for the treatment received over the past sixteen or more years.
If you have to bow down and let wrong continue, then what is the purpose of your life? - Anon
Mike Francis-Roberson – March 2010
THE CORRUPTION CHRONICLES - END OF PART ONE*[Malfeasance: Wrongful conduct by a public official - Wrongdoing; misconduct especially by a public official that causes damage. Under New Zealand law this carries a term of imprisonment of up to three years upon conviction]
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