Following revelations of serious concerns expressed by both the Auditor General and Treasury, the Green Party has once again written to the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) urging her to investigate the pay-offs made to Saudi businessman Mr Hamood Al-Ali Al-Khalaf.
Following revelations of serious concerns expressed by both the Auditor General and Treasury, the Green Party has once again written to the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) urging her to investigate the pay-offs made to Saudi businessman Mr Hamood Al-Ali Al-Khalaf.
"Previously withheld documents show the OAG had raised concerns about the legality of this deal and that Treasury aren’t sure there was even a viable business case, yet that didn’t deter John Key and Murray McCully from pushing through a very questionable deal," said Green Party Co-leader James Shaw.
“We wrote to the Auditor General in May asking her to investigate. I understand she is still looking at the issue.
“Given the release of documents yesterday, I remain concerned about the dodgy Saudi sheep farm deal, so I have written to the OAG again, urging her to investigate.
“The Government has gone out of its way to muddy the truth and provide select details designed to confuse the public – a sure sign they have something to hide.
“But all the documents released to date indicate the Government paid this money to buy off Mr Al-Khalaf and secure a free trade deal.
“New Zealanders deserve the full story from their Government about how public money that would have been better spent on health or education, was instead spent on a doomed sheep farm in the middle of the desert,” said Mr Shaw.
