Page 252 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
suspense account books have disappeared and an extremely diligent search has failed to find them - books in a bank recording millions upon millions of dollars just disappearing and, further, that it is therefore difficult to "quantify the profits" which PPL made from point taking! Do not be misled; "point taking" is a euphemism for theft.
It does not stop there. The loss of these books makes it impossible to form a firm view on deal switching. It did go on. When one of Westpac's clients made a profitable deal on forex while Westpac actually made an unprofitable one, the accounts were switched. The client's account did not make a profit and Westpac's account did - more straight theft.
Following the revelation of such matters to the general manager, one would expect immediate action to look after the customer. Instead, the reaction is a conspiracy to cover up - put pressure on anyone who might reveal what is in these documents. The snowball effect of the revelation of documents like these, which are of such vital public interest, has already started. Further documents reveal that the Westpac Banking Corporation has been involved in a tax evasion scam which cost Australian taxpayers over $200m in one year.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Moore! I am not legally trained and I would ask the Attorney-General to give me some advice.
Mr Moore: Perhaps I can clarify the point, Mr Speaker. What I am about to say does not refer at all to the documents to which the sub judice ruling was applied. I will explain. The particular documents refer to a senior managers legal conference in September 1982. That is what I will be referring to from now on. It is not part of what was referred to in the court order.
Mr Collaery: Mr Speaker, could I speak to that point of order. None of the documents available to me and none of the advice I have received from Westpac's lawyers refer to any taxation evasion issues. On that issue I am unable to disagree with Mr Moore.
MR MOORE: This represents one of the biggest tax evasion schemes since the bottom-of-the-harbour scandal. It is being engaged in by Westpac, which is seeking to cover up in Federal Parliament and the courts in fear of the massive amounts of money involved - amounts so great that, if Westpac were audited by the Commissioner of Taxation for tax fraud, I believe it could even face collapse.
I will shortly read a quotation extracted from the proceedings of a Westpac senior managers legal conference in September 1982, attended by tax lawyers from the firm Allen, Allen and Hemsley. The latter firm was raided by the Tax Office in 1988 for involvement in tax evasion. Allens appealed against this, claiming legal privilege and sub judice, to the High Court where its case was thrown
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .