By Jordan Williams

Yesterday we released an explosive Legal Opinion that says certain people involved in claims that Councils will share ownership of assets under Three Waters seem likely to have breached the prohibition in section 9 of the Fair Trading Act 1986 of “conduct that is misleading or deceptive, or is likely to mislead or deceive”. The Taxpayers’ Union has now asked the Commerce Commission to take action.

We ask the Commission to:

investigate and if feasible, prosecute certain people who have made or assisted in the making of misleading or deceptive claims that territorial authorities and communities will have ownership of the Three Waters “entities” under the ‘Three Waters’ scheme for New Zealand water infrastructure.”

Recognising the legal advice that liability depends on the misleading statements being made ‘in trade’, the letter to the Commission points to Doug Martin and LGNZ as people whose involvement appears to be ‘in trade’ for FTA purposes. Mr Martin seems to have been engaged professionally to chair the Working Group on Representation, Governance, and Accountability of New Water Service Entities. LGNZ has made statements purporting to advise its members and Councillors, and it is a body paid to provide advice and research.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said “The Commission should also look at the statements and responsibility of any other member of that Working Group engaged to provide professional or other services.”

“Business people must obey laws which impose large fines for dishonesty and even just misleading conduct. We are advised that in this case they extend to some of the people who we think have made false claims about ownership of local assets under Three Waters. The Commerce Commission needs to take action to show that no one is above that law, even if they have been working with Ministers used to being immune from the business honesty laws.”

Business people are liable even when they don’t know their statements were false. In this case, the claims about ownership were at best reckless, if they were not intended to deceive.”

Read the letter to Commerce Commission at https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/three_waters_letter_to_commerce_commission