by Ganesh Sahathevan
The new NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance's methods of improving NSW state revenue at all costs, disregarding even the law, while in his former finance and services portfolio, makes him unsuitable to be put in charge of the more senior Treasury portfolio.
As Minister For Finance Mr Constance sought to increase state revenue by enforcing parking fines. In 2012 alone he added $ 177 million to state revenues by imposing parking fines on apparent over-stayers at parks and hospitals, hitting the sick, elderly , and students.
When questioned on that strategy Mr Constance said:
"If a driver believes they have been fined incorrectly, they can seek a review from the Office of State Revenue (OSR)."
However, there is evidence that the OSR , led by the Commissioner For Fines, Tony Newbury, and Mr Constance, appear to have in place a scheme where reviews are routinely rejected and the appellants told instead to seek redress via the legal system , in the expectation that the costs of legal challenge will discourage doing so, and the fine paid without challenge.
In a recent incident where this writer was involved, an attempt was successfully made to make Mr Constance and Mr Newbury reveal their methods when justifying a fine.Email queries were sent Mr Newbury , Mr Constance , and then Premier, O'Farrell.
In response, Mr Newbury, in a letter sent on behalf of Constance and O'Farrell, admitted that:
a) they could not detail the actual facts of the offence upon which their penalty was premised.
They had earlier determined to justify the penalty on a fabricated story which involved a child that was supposed to be the driver's , the child climbing out of the car,and child walking then walking towards the car ; all of which was false.
b) there was disagreement between the time of offence stated in the penalty notice, and their own photographs which they furnished as evidence of the crime. In fact , the times were clearly transposed, raising the issue of whether the time of offence had been deliberately misstated to justify the offence.
Nevertheless, this was explained away as a failure to adjust their cameras for daylight saving, but then;
c) could not say how the time of offence was actually determined
Given that most fines, including the one described above, are for a few hundred dollars and given that legal fees are usually upward of a thousand, most fines are paid without any legal challenge, regardless of the facts.Indeed judges are angered by litigants who disregard "commercial realities".
However, Mr Constance does not seem to have realized that being a politician, the court of public opinion is what really matters to his future. If the best he can do is cheat to raise public revenue, it is unlikely that he possesses the skills necessary to balance the state's books.
END
Former “Ground Zero” imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife bolted their New Jersey home about 20 minutes apart Wednesday without addressing the pending $20 million lawsuit against him.
The ski-capped Rauf, 64, climbed into a waiting Lincoln Town Car, with his chauffeur and quickly zipped away from the two-story North Bergen house.
Spouse Daisy Khan fled earlier in her four-door sedan, pulling out of the long driveway past a Daily News reporter. Neither said a word before heading off.
RELATED: 'GROUND ZERO' MOSQUE SCAM
Richard Harbus/for NY Daily News
Rauf leaving his North Bergen home and getting into a limousine Wednesday morning. He's under fire for allegedly stealing from Muslim nonprofits.
According to the Manhattan lawsuit, Rauf used the ill-gotten cash to splurge on gifts and luxury vacations with a Jersey gal pal.
The imam, who became a polarizing national figure in the debate over the planned mosque near the World Trade Center site, also spent money on a sports car, real estate and other unspecified entertainment, the suit charged.
RELATED: GONZALEZ: COURT FIGHT WITH 'GROUND ZERO' IMAM TAINTS BOTH SIDES
Richard Harbus /for NY Daily News
The imam slipped past a Daily News reporter Wednesday morning, refusing to acknowledge the lawsuit.
The two groups were created to battle anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States.
An attorney for Khan said the charges against her husband were bogus, adding they planned a “vigorous defense.”
The Internal Revenue Service, citing agency policy, declined comment Wednesday on the lawsuit’s allegation that Rauf lied on his nonprofits’ income tax returns in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
RELATED: IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF OUT AS LEADER OF PLANNED MOSQUE NEAR GROUND ZERO: OFFICIALS
AP
An artist rendering of the proposed Park51 community center and mosque, a project which has struggled to raise money.
Deak accused Rauf of blowing $167,000 from their donations, along with another $3 million given by the Malaysian government. The Malaysian Embassy had no comment Wednesday on the alleged scam.
Fund-raising at Park51 remains stalled as the group seeks an application for tax-exempt status and continues a court fight with Con Ed over back rent on the property.
Park51 developer Sharif El-Gamal, for a second straight day, did not return phone calls about Rauf.
But Mayor Bloomberg, once a backer of the planned mosque, didn’t give the mosque and cultural center much of a chance.
“Their plans were to raise $100 million. (They raised) $18,000,” the mayor said Wednesday. “I think . . . that’s enough of a story line.”
With Erin Durkin and Richard Harbus