Shane Ardern's conflict of interest | The Jackal

22 Mar 2012

Shane Ardern's conflict of interest

Yesterday, Voxy reported:

Tariana Turia, MP for Te Tai Hauauru, has spoken out against the South Taranaki District Council (Cold Creek Rural Water Supply) Bill, which is in the House for its first reading, despite opposition from Nga Ruahinerangi, Ngati Ruanui, Nga Rauru and Taranaki Iwi Trust.

[...]

Mrs Turia said "The bill which proposes the transfer of the Cold Creek Rural Water Supply to a wholly privately owned company for management, is yet another example of iwi resources, used as state owned assets are being transferred out of Crown ownership."

Very interesting. Along with National's Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Bill, the Cold Creek Rural Water Supply Bill is designed to gift farmer's unconditional control of our resources.

Today, the Taranaki Daily News reported:

The Cold Creek Community company seeking to control and own it was led by Neville Ardern, the brother of Taranaki-King Country MP Shane Ardern, Mr Little said.

He accused Mr Borrows and the Arderns of bullying the district council into agreeing to divest the asset.

Speaking under the protection of parliamentary privilege, Mr Little quoted minutes from an August 2011 meeting that showed Shane Adern saying that if Cold Creek Community failed in its divestment request, then there would be some kind of legislative action through Parliament that would bring about the kind of ownership it desired.

Neville Ardern added a threat that if the council did not proceed with the divestment, then they would take legal action which would cost a lot of money and cause headaches for both parties, Mr Little said.

People have been highly disparaging of the Ardern's blackmailing the Taranaki District Council. Neville Ardern is in fact the founder of Cold Creek Community Water Supply Limited (PDF), so Shane as a National MP has an obvious conflict of interest.

Shane Ardern is the type of farmer we don't want in New Zealand. Under the Ardern PS & CJ Family Trusts, they have a non-notified consent (PDF) to dump 40 metric tons of effluent per day into the Punehu Stream.

The Fonterra shareholder Shane Ardern is infamous for driving a tractor up the steps of parliament in an illegal protest against the agricultural emissions research levy or "fart tax". Parliament is no place for such cowboys!