A clear conflict of interest

Another day, another MP caught fiddling their pecuniary interests declaration. This time it's National's Carl Bates, who hid his interest in 25 properties from public scrutiny:

Trusts linked to Whanganui first-term National MP Carl Bates and his family own 25 properties, which are not disclosed on Parliament’s list of MPs’ property and financial interests.

Many of the properties are rentals in Whanganui, making Bates’ family one of the biggest private landlords in his electorate.

Bates told the Herald he was merely a beneficiary of the trusts and had checked he was declaring everything required of him.

...and then deliberately moved all those properties into a trust to prevent disclosure. It may be "within the rules" (which we all know are bullshit). But it is also deeply dishonest and corrupt. And meanwhile, while he held this enormous secret interest as one of Whanganui's biggest landlords, he merrily voted on legislation benefiting landlords and screwing over renters. Normal people would call that a clear conflict of interest, exactly the sort of thing the pecuniary interests register was intended to prevent. But as we all know, our political class are no longer normal people, and no longer share our values. Instead they exist in their own little world where landleeching and corruption are pervasive.

This system needs to be cleaned out. And those who hide their corrupt interests need to go.