Okaaaaaay-

(just never wanting to use it in my garden!)

Shit has its purpose. Why, even prisoners use it to throw against walls. Surely they could find a use for him. ;)

Well, given a court just found a case to answer, they could have just dug out and presented the evidence?

See http://pundit.co.nz/content/is-someone-trying-to-game-the-mmp-review for some reasons why.

Participate!

knowing that it is false in any material particular

Ah, got you – that clarifying clause only applies to the lesser offence.

The major differences are in bits about what…

Like reading the return, perhaps?

Seriously, how do the Police justify not laying charges and letting a court judge the matter?

Well, the texts of the two acts are very similar:

Local Electoral Act – 134 / False return
(1)Every candidate commits an offence who transmits a return of electoral expenses __knowing that it is…

I agree with Anna Simkiss’ comment. I understand Graeme’s supremely fair reluctance to second guess the Police, but without a disclosure of the underlying facts, the letter to Mallard doesn’t seem particularly compelling. This all reminds me that John Banks…

I genuinely hope such things exist, but a cynical mind would suggest that doubts remain.... certainly, evidence to the contrary (in individual examples) is wide-spread.
How wide-spread does the taint of power seeking and self aggrandizement, or just telling…

FTFY.

Seriously, people are overlooking that Banks would have been thoroughly nailed if he'd tried it for a general election.

The Local Elections Act…

"And our slogan shall be, 'a rotten candidate for a rotten borough'."
– Mr E. Blackadder

"Prime Minister John Key has said he will strip Banks of his ministerial warrants if he is found to be lying over Dotcom's donation."

Yes, Prime Minister.......

It must be hard for the genuinely honest and passionate politicians to have their job smeared by the disgustingly dishonest and dishonorable, behaviour of a few…

According to his statement in front of a 3 News camera, Banks also forgot literally being handed a sealed…

I just think there has to be some degree of knowledge imputed to Banks here. He asked Dotcom to structure his donation in a way that was plainly intended to facilitate the falsification of an electoral return.…

Expect to be affronted. The chap has a degree in it. :)

which they do now, as we've seen in matters teapot. I agree about keeping these decisions away from the Police though. Surely there's an agency that can handle referrals for prosecution better?

William K Black says hi.

Because that isn't the legal issue – the issue is whether he "knowingly" sent in a return of his donations that was false. And he's…

It means, if can you get more money and not get caught doing anything they can convict you on, then you are ethical.

If I were a judge, I would surely have found that there was one large donation, not two anonymous ones; and that Banks' dishonesty (whether at the time of the conversation…

Be careful what you wish for. Using the police…

So that makes it a pyrrhic victory for the Earl of Epsom?

The 3 News report has Banks' previous statements on camera about what he couldn't remember. It's a terrible look and Key looks bad too. And David Shearer's "he got off on…

Chris Hayes also agrees, in his new book Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, where he basically says American meritocracy has mutated into an aristo-plutocracy.

We know John Banks went around wealthy people and companies getting donations in the five figures. The Police clearly are of the opinion he did so in full knowledge they were…

As Graeme notes in his own post, this is now a political, rather than a legal, issue.

The problem is, more than an impression, that themz that is the political elite can get away with whatever they want to get away with regardless of any provision at law be it electoral law or otherwise.

No. But that is the rationale behind it.

Hogwash – you believe that is the reality of things – Really?

Banks signed a declaration without knowing what it was, this makes him unfit for public office

Banks is saying he never read the declaration before signing…

Is breaking the law, but getting away with it due to a time limit, the same as 'complying with the law'?

I'd go with what Graeme's said, but I do find myself now really really wanting to know if…

There are election petition procedures in both the Electoral Act and the Local Electoral Act now. If someone wanted to use the election petition procedure to pursue an allegation against John Banks they could have.

We have that too.

Show me something that says the UK Election Court still has jurisdiction 18 months after the event you're complaining of and I'll get back to you.

And if you believe they don't know, I have a round building in Wellington to sell you.

It wasn't a 3 month investigation for a 6 month limitation. It was a 3 month investigation for a 10 year limitation. There was no possibility of a charge having a six month limitation period because that had already long-expired.

Local…

In relation to (2) I was thinking of…

(1) I…

One might…

Certainly didn't realise there were different time limits for different crimes which kind of makes sense. Bit silly in this case because it would be hard to make a complaint until all the documentation was made public and even then hard to wade through it enough to realise…

The 2 are not mutually exclusive and I would posit...

If politicians don't know who is giving them money, they can't do them any favours.

Do the Police charge costs for the 3 month investigation?

Oh and the 6 month limitation = crock.

There is. And Banks could have been charged with filing a false return without taking proper care if…

Because no-one even complained until something like 16 months after the alleged offending.

Given the speed with which bureaucracy moves my guess is all the relevant details wouldn't have been even released for public scrutiny.

So the police would probably have to suspect a crime even before the election in order to be able to beat the time…

From my reading of this investigation, I conclude that the police have done…

Banks didn't piss Dotcom off until well after that? ;)

Shhhh, one just arrived in the comments. Don't make any sudden movements or semantically questionable interpretations...

Re your question, I would read the second part of the relevant section here as being about "proper care and attention" (you have committed an offence if…

The law does allow candidates to be held responsible for the documenst they sign.

If you can charge them within six months.

I get that.

But I thought there was something legal about the act of putting your mark on a document. Along the lines of "if you sign it you affirm that…

Isn't there also a law about…

That is not the form Banks filled out for the 2010 Auckland Mayoral Election. That's the form he would have filled out for the 2011 General Election.

It also makes the police look incompetent.

I really don't understand this. Even if he didn't realise the contents of the form were incorrect, by signing it surely he is legally responsible for the contents?

Is there a lawyer…

In the world the rest of us inhabit, if you sign something as true without reading or checking it, you have to wear the blame it if it turns out to be wrong.

Banks has to be…

I had to look up sophism – " a specious argument used for deceiving someone"
then I had to look up specious – "strongly held but false"
That's two new words I learned today!
That's what I love about Public Address, its so.... educational…

This is the form Banks filled out. Doesn't have a statement anywhere disclaiming the candidate's responsibility. IANAL, but I thought that when one signed an official form, one was taking responsibility for that being a true account?

Normally, a candidate…

Contracts 101.