Move Along, Nothing to See Here

Rigorous Audits as Far as the Eye Can See

Does New Zealand suffer from corruption? That's like asking whether the sun will rise tomorrow. Of course we suffer from corruption.

New Zealand has an army of organizations and "service providers" dependant upon government grants and largesse. It has another army of bureaucrats aspiring to regulate everything, including even the rear end of cows. Large dollops of unworked for cash, just waiting to be appropriated, for innumerable causes and concerns, is far too big a temptation for some. State appropriation easily becomes a personal expropriation. Corruption is inevitable under such conditions.

What is becoming more evident, however, is that the corruption appears increasingly systemic. We mean by this that it is becoming institutionalised. Personnel "flit" from bureaucracy to service provider, from gamekeeper to poacher. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours--all on the taxpayer's dollar. This is the lesson emerging from the Taeaomanino Trust scandal.

Now, at first glance, it appeared that the TT scandal was of the garden variety kind--that is, a few Trust executives skimming off a bit of government money to line their own pockets, coupled with a smelly dose of nepotism. This, according to the Dom Post:

A taxpayer-funded trust – awarded Government contracts worth up to $1.5 million – is being investigated by police after more than $100,000 went missing. Taeaomanino Trust, based at Porirua, faces allegations about over-inflated expense claims and senior managers employing relatives and then pocketing their salaries. . . .

Ifopo So'o, who founded the trust with his wife, Paula Masoe, was dismissed in March last year after $107,000 went missing.

The Ministry of Social Development, upon hearing the smelly rumours, commissioned an audit by Deloittes. It was damning.

The Deloitte report investigated 10 allegations about the trust and its staff. It found:

Two relatives of Mr So'o and Ms Masoe were employed as cleaners but did not clean at the trust. Their wages were diverted into accounts held in Ms Masoe and Mr So'o's name.

Ms Masoe claimed expenses of $3500 for a carpet but there was no evidence it was laid.

$5058 was claimed for accommodation and training – but no receipts provided.

The trust's New World card was used to buy baby wipes, lamb chops, salmon fillets, fruit and vegetables.

Expenses were claimed for cigarettes and magazines. Ms Masoe claimed $4500 for use of her personal vehicle.

Ms Masoe was overpaid for 93 days of leave.

Despite this, six months later the good old TT was awarded a government grant of half a million dollars to help poor families. Then, to add insult to injury, the government recently awarded a Whanau Ora grant to TT

Last month Taeaomanino was selected as a provider for the controversial Whanau Ora scheme, in a contract thought to be worth up to $1 million. . . . (A Ministry spokesman) added: "Taeaomanino Trust has recently been awarded Whanau Ora funding. I can assure you that the trust was subject to a robust and rigorous tender process."

(A Trust spokesman) "Since the trust was formed, it has been subject to many audits and reviews as part of the rigorous government and DHB tender and contract awarding procedure."

Do you get the impression there is a bit of mutual butt covering going on here? Now the plot thickens, and corruption appears to be oozing out in yet more places, like a PSA blasted kiwifruit vine.

A Child, Youth and Family worker tasked with investigating a taxpayer-funded trust facing damning allegations is now a senior manager there.

Sandie Hill was a CYF approvals assessor and was asked to conduct an inquiry into Porirua's Taeaomanino Trust in February last year. The review followed the resignation of operations manager Ifopo So'o, who admitted misappropriating more than $100,000.

Four months later, after she had completed her review, Ms Hill left CYF to take a job as the trust's operations manager, replacing Mr So'o.

In a further twist, her CYF supervisor, Matey Galloway, had just completed a year-long study placement with the trust.

Good old Matey. Yup, those audits and reviews were clearly robust and rigorous. "Move along, move along. Nothing to see here."