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J. 7 Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament: Summary of annual returns as at 31 January 2011 Forty-ninth Parliament Presented to the House of Representatives pursuant to Appendix B of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives REGISTER OF PECUNIARY AND OTHER SPECIFIED INTERESTS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT: SUMMARY OF ANNUAL RETURNS J. 7 2 REGISTER OF PECUNIARY AND OTHER SPECIFIED INTERESTS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT: SUMMARY OF ANNUAL RETURNS J. 7 MISTER SPEAKER I have the honour to provide to you, pursuant to clause 16(3) of Appendix B of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, a copy of the summary booklet containing a fair and accurate description of the information contained in the Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament, as at 31 January 2011. Dame Margaret Bazley DNZM, Hon DLit Registrar of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament 3 REGISTER OF PECUNIARY AND OTHER SPECIFIED INTERESTS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT: SUMMARY OF ANNUAL RETURNS J. 7 Introduction Since 2006, members of Parliament have been required to register certain personal interests in 13 categories set out in clauses 4 to 7 of Appendix B of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives. These are listed below. Items 1 to 9 require a ‘snapshot’ of interests as at 31 January 2011. Items 10 to 13 cover the period from the member’s previous return, or from their election to Parliament, until 31 January 2011. This booklet summarises the information provided in members’ returns in respect of any of the categories below. 1 Company directorships and controlling interests (clause 4(1)(a)) 2 Interests (such as shares and bonds) in companies and business entities (clauses 4(1)(b) and 4(2)) 3 Employment (clause 4(1)(c)) 4 Interests in trusts (clause 4(1)(d)) 5 Organisations and trusts seeking Government funding (clause 4(1)(e)) 6 Real property (clause 4(1)(f)) 7 Superannuation schemes (clause 4(1)(g)) 8 Debtors (clauses 4(1)(h), 4(3), 5, and 6) 9 Creditors (clauses 4(1)(i), 4(3), 5, and 6) 10 Overseas travel costs (clauses 7(1)(a) and 7(2)) 11 Gifts (clauses 7(1)(b) and 7(3)) 12 Discharged debts (clause 7(1)(c)) 13 Payments for activities (clause 7(1)(d)) Review of Standing Orders In 2010 the Standing Orders Committee carried out a major review of the Standing Orders relating to pecuniary interests. This review had been referred to the committee by the House following a unanimous recommendation of the Privileges Committee.1 The Standing Orders Committee recommended substantial amendments to the Standing Orders relating to pecuniary interests. These amendments were adopted as a sessional order, with effect from 1 January 2011. This means that the returns contained in this Summary booklet were made under the amended Standing Orders. The Standing Orders Committee will review the operation of these Standing Orders later this year, as part of its general review of Standing Orders. The amended Standing Orders are reproduced as an Annex to this booklet. 1 Question of privilege relating to compliance with a member’s obligations under the Standing Orders dealing with pecuniary interests, Report of the Privileges Committee, September 2008 (I.17D) 4 REGISTER OF PECUNIARY AND OTHER SPECIFIED INTERESTS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT: SUMMARY OF ANNUAL RETURNS J. 7 What has changed in the Standing Orders? Name of the register The register is now titled the “Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests”. This does not imply any increase in the types of interest that must be declared; rather it reflects the fact that some of the interests that have always had to be declared are not pecuniary in nature. For example, members are required to declare a controlling interest in companies, regardless of whether those companies are trading or provide any financial benefit to them. Trusts Previously members were required to declare the name of each trust in which they had a “beneficial interest”, that is, if they were the beneficiary of a fixed trust. This requirement has been broadened and clarified so that members are now required to declare the name of each trust of which they are aware, or ought reasonably to be aware, that they are a beneficiary or a trustee. Patrons and vice-patrons of organisations seeking Government funding Members who are patron or vice-patron of an organisation seeking Government funding only have to declare it if they are also on the governing body, or if they have been actively involved in seeking Government funding for the organisation. Real property Previously members were required to declare the location of real property in which they had a pecuniary interest, unless they had no “beneficial interest” in the property. This wording was causing difficulties for members, and the Standing Orders Committee gave extensive consideration to the types of interest in real property that should be disclosed. The amended wording in Standing Orders now clarifies that members are required to declare the location of real property in which they have a legal interest (that is, ownership or lease) or where the property is owned by a trust of which they are a beneficiary (including a beneficiary of a discretionary trust). They are not required to declare property held by a trust if their interest in the property is solely from being a trustee. Interest rate for debts The requirement has been removed to declare the specific interest rate for any debt of more than $50,000 owed to or by a member where that rate is lower than a certain rate specified from time to time under the Income Tax Act 2004. There is now no requirement to declare the actual interest rate. Instead, members are required to note if the interest rate is lower than the normal market interest rate that applied at the time the debt was incurred or renegotiated, which is a more relevant measure of whether an interest rate was particularly favourable. This is indicated in this booklet by a footnote. Payment for activities A specific exclusion has been made for payments received as a funding entitlement for parliamentary purposes under the Parliamentary Service Act 2000. An example of this 5 REGISTER OF PECUNIARY AND OTHER SPECIFIED INTERESTS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT: SUMMARY OF ANNUAL RETURNS J. 7 type of payment is the reimbursement of legal fees by the Parliamentary Service under the authority of Speaker’s Directions. A further change has been the addition of wording to clarify that a payment that has been agreed to should be declared, even if the payment has not yet been received. Payments received for activities completed before becoming a member of Parliament are not required to be declared. Other changes Other changes to the Standing Orders are significant, but are not immediately relevant to how members make their annual returns of interests. These include: · Removal of the Auditor-General’s function of carrying out inquiries into whether any member or the Registrar has complied with their obligations under the Standing Orders · Creation of a new procedure whereby the Registrar can receive and determine requests from members for an inquiry into whether another member has complied with their obligations under the Standing Orders · An extended period for retaining information relating to individual members’ returns. Matters of clarification I raised with the committee a number of matters which did not require amendments to the Standing Orders, but which had emerged as needing some clarification. I wish to express my thanks to the committee for its advice on these matters, and for its endorsement of the practices that the previous Registrar, Sir Anand Satyanand, and I had developed. These matters included: · A statement of the purpose of the Register · Confirmation that members are required to declare any interests they have in companies, including non-trading and trustee companies · Confirmation of the approach to the declaration of jointly-held Māori land that I described in the 2010 Summary of Returns, that is, that such land interests should be declared but that the general location of the land is sufficient as a description · Endorsement of a proposed process for handling late returns · Agreement that only hard-copy returns bearing the member’s original signature will be accepted · Endorsement of the process for publishing corrections on the parliamentary website · Consideration of the role of the Deputy Clerk as default Registrar · Interpretation of the wording for declaring overseas travel, in relation to airline upgrades. 6 REGISTER OF PECUNIARY AND OTHER SPECIFIED INTERESTS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT: SUMMARY OF ANNUAL RETURNS J. 7 Effect of the Canterbury earthquake From the first round of annual returns in 2006 until this year, all members have complied with the requirement to supply their return by the due date. I had given consideration to how I would handle a late return, if I ever received one. Standing Order 401 gives examples of matters that the House may treat as a contempt. One of these is “knowingly failing to make a return of pecuniary and other specified interests by the due date” (Standing Order 401(g)). I had taken this to indicate the seriousness with which the House would view a member’s failing to supply their return on time. Given this, my view was that this annual Summary should contain only those returns that had been properly received, and that a return received after the due date should not be included. However, I have no wish to withhold information that members supply to me, so I concluded that a return received late should be published on the parliamentary website.

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