Magali Russo, eldest daughter of Australian crook and Founder of the fraudulent BBX Barter exchange Michael Touma, has had one of her failed New Zealand companies wound up and struck off – finally. Education 2014 Ltd will be struck off the companies register in February 2019, but not before they [hilariously] had to cough up a few extra cents in the dollar for their hidden BBX balance! This whole saga is utterly shameful, highly revealing and excruciatingly embarrassing for the Touma family, but it is now all official documented fact. Read on!

BBX is an Australian based commercial Barter exchange founded by conman Michael Touma, a fast-talking Australian businessman who was banned from operating companies in New Zealand by the authorities before his death. I revealed their fraudulent currency BBX across the globe in Q1, 2017 in real-time, blogging that totally knocked the stuffing out of their failing operations.

His widow and daughters inherited the spoils as well as his ethical standards (or more accurately his lack of) and with family in-fighting Carolin MacDonald eventually got the power. Mags [that’s Magali Russo, the Director of multiple failed companies in New Zealand alone], is the eldest. She used the BBX trade exchange along with multiple companies in New Zealand to rip off the IRD (NZ’s tax Department) in a rotating fashion, by that I mean one after the other, just like her late father taught them all. That’s why he was banned by the NZ authorities from being a Director.

I report here the findings of the Liquidator showing the progression of inquiry, revelations of deceit and the net result. The crooks have the bulk of the money. The receiver got the lions share of what they recovered. The government of New Zealand got stuff-all and the taxpayers effectively subsidised the Touma lifestyle! Sound about right?

Here’s the proof.

Timeline of Events

• Mags establishes the company Education 2014 Ltd, (just one company in the middle of a series)
• The company trades [yeah right!], ending up with a large debt to the IRD and a large BBX trade balance
• Liquidator appointed
• Very few records provided
• Liquidator threatens Director
• Carolin McDonald takes over negotiations from Mags and offers to pay $10k – enough to cover the Liquidators Fees
• Liquidator announces that the barrel is empty – just another dead duck company with no assets
• Liquidator finds out that there is a large hidden asset within the BBX trading system – “Ah hah! What have we here now girls?”
• Another deal is done paying the liquidator only cents in the dollar for that large Trade Credit
• The NZ Government now gets a slightly larger small payout
• Liquidator warns the Companies Office that, “Like father, like daughter!”

Incredible! And all public now!

Lessons

There are a few takehomes from this saga:

1. The Touma family “forget’ things (like nigh on $100k trade credit in their own BBX Barter system) when it suited them. I call this deceit and crooked conduct.
2. The Liquidator was conned and didn’t know that the company they were investigating had hidden assets. Their fees were paid in full with the two deals that they did with the crooks. That’s the ‘game’ possums!
3. Carolin took over the whole dealings of Mags’ disasters and ‘sorted it out’. I can tell you very firmly that this was not Mags’ idea nor at her instigation! I can almost hear just imagine the cats at work discussing this one and in my mind’s eye I can see the claws coming out. Brotherly Sisterly love, I’m sure!
4. The [cash] money that came from this GST [technically called a Carousel Fraud] came from the New Zealand taxpayer. Yes, some of it came back by way of $20k in payments to PWC to get this saga closed down once and for all but the net loss was substantially more than the recovery. Crooks:1. NZ:0.001.
5. Once a crook – always a crook! Dad taught the girls well eh wot?

Evidence

Documents showing the above can be sighted and downloaded at the NZ companies office website www.companies.govt.nz and searching for “Employment 2014”. It’s a simple process gaining access to all the source documents.

Critical sections from the Liquidators, PWC, are listed below:

This Christmas, I share my observations about giving, that the “free gift of God” so easily spoken of at this time of year is actually highly conditional, and how that understanding sets the scene for those of us seeking to help others. I differentiate between the giving of alms and the wisdom of business-type giving, using Christ’s example as a blueprint for our conduct. Enjoy.

This though, while true, is only a part of the picture, for when we examine the scriptures with the eye of viewing conditions as equal and alongside of this unmerited favour (aka ‘grace’) we can get a little wake-up call. The Lord God created and then gave Dominion of the created world to Adam and Eve. Cool! Thanks God! “But . . .” there is a but . . . “just trust me will you please?” He slips in the condition, “leave the fruit of that one tree!”

The resulting Fall brought reality home to our forefathers as they lost relationship with the Creator the same day that they sinned.

Then the Old Testament prophets and leaders spoke again, time after time about cause and effect. Do this and you’ll get the blessing. Do that and you’ll suffer curse. The whole Old Testament Law was divisive – the separation of good and evil relied on the people first hearing Him and then doing what He said. A lot of the Law was not to prevent actions because they were inherently bad, but was protection through separation. Doing good things was not so much to get a reward as the exercising of faith through obedience. This cause and effect and separation thing is highly conditional.

When Jesus commenced His ministry, He too taught cause and effect. This is simple logic – do what I say and things will go well with you. Ignore me and suffer. Analyse the interactions that Jesus had with those whom He healed and you can see a litany of conditions the Master set, before during and after healing.

“What do you want?” the Master asked (even though it was obvious) which required the man at the pool to actually speak his desire aloud. His question, “What can you see now?” required the blind man to report the physical eyesight healing publicly before Jesus healed the man’s brain’s capacity to interpret the newly received electrical signals. “Go and sin no more!” to another seemingly unworthy recipient seems to be a requirement for substantive behavioral change. You can imagine the reversion of healing should he continue to sin, can’t you?

Much of His teaching too was ‘either/or’ stuff, the same message as the Old Testament but personified. With Him or against Him. Good or bad. Right or Wrong and the big one at the end of time . . . whew. Heavy stuff!

It is my take that the free gift of eternal life is costly. Did Jesus ask us for only 10% or for total dedication of His followers? His gifting was given first before we responded (lit:while we were yet sinners), yet its acceptance requires faith on our part, and that faith requires action. Nine times out of ten faith seems to me to have to be outworked which requires a business-type mentality; like a trade. He does something, so we do something, and good results.

“Stand up and walk,” He said. Faith first – then the healing.

This is sometimes called a win-win scenario. A wise investment.

It doesn’t mean that we ignore those who cannot or do not return something to us, but giving without conditions is the act of giving alms – a different kind of giving.

As a businessman, I can identify with the Master as He sought to lift and help others. I watch in my own life as I give more to those who understand and exercise faith in response to my love, care and assistance. When somebody responds positively and ‘gets it’ I give more, just as ten lepers got healed, but the one that returned to thank the Master got a double blessing.

I’d also like to note that the teaching in real-time of what is happening as it [the giving] is happening is extraordinarily powerful. I call it “mirroring” where we repeat back to the one we are helping with what we see like a mirror can do but with educational value attached. It’s all very well to share wisdom with somebody . . . It’s all very well to help them act wisely . . . It’s even more valuable to give to them and to teach, explain and to demonstrate what you are doing as you are doing it . . . Then when the Master taught His disciples and sent them out two by two they gained deeper understanding . . . but the ultimate scenario is that when He sent the Holy Spirit it is now our role to enable His working directly in and through us.

Our giving, when undertaken in the power of the Holy Spirit brings the miraculous into daily living. We do not get surprised when (as I said recently to a friend) when there’s a knock on the door and the door opens to a ‘miraculous’ answer to our prayer. We literally expect this to occur.

Such events where we receive blessing, sometimes even before we become aware of our need, is simple conditions being outworked. We have been obedient and given what we have (wisdom, love, advice, goods, services or money) and as a natural result of that giving (the return on our trading investment, if you will) our needs are met. This is only to be expected from a living God, who can be trusted.

My time in Samoa in particular taught me that, even in a sea of Christian religiousness, apathy and gross social indifference to the reality of Jesus, when we as individuals Hear and Obey, He is always there and can be trusted. Oh sure, I lost everything I owned; was hated because of the colour of my skin; and declared a ‘Prohibited Immigrant’ because I named the PM’s mistress. What’s all that though in the whole scheme of things?

We are welcome to give alms, expecting nothing in return. Anyone can do that – the Red Cross, Salvation Army, beggars and buskers await. Wiser giving however puts our time, resources and focus into those people and circumstances where a transaction occurs. Like God, we give freely (an investment); we establish conditions upon continued giving (effectively seeking a Return on that Investment); and this provides on-going blessing (thus the Return).

Like God too though, we should retreat from attempting to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear’ somehow by force. The Holy Spirit, like a dove that lifts off and hovers above a scene of conflict, retreats in the face of trauma where He is not welcome, awaiting the authority to return afresh to do the needful.

There is a New Age thinking that uses the word ‘karma‘ the thinking that ‘what goes around, comes around’. The idea behind this is that when we help somebody else, eventually somebody else will help us. I find this concept delusional at best and totally contrary to God’s ways. I see that sh*t happens to good and bad people equally. There is nothing on this earth that I know of that changes human greed, or self-interest, aside from the work of the Holy Spirit. Good people who only eat organic rabbit-food can die young of cancer and crooks and smokers can live to 100.

What I do see however is that God holds those close to Him regardless of what life throws at them; that He is good, and true to His word. Casting our coins or cares to the wind trusting that they will be served by karma is fine for some. I’d prefer to trust Him, though.

Before I conclude, I’d just like to explain the consequences of giving unconditionally, using my Samoan experiences to show the dangers of unwise giving. The Samoan people are opportunists as a rule. When the White Man comes to their island they shower him with hospitality and the giving of food and other gifts, this really can catch us off guard. There is though a subtle expectation that when we marry their daughters, or receive a High Chief title, or settle in their land, that we are automatically owned by them. It is our job to pay for their better schooling, Palagi-style food, Palagi-style housing, travel to New Zealand (or Australia or the USA or wherever we came from) employment and even their right to emmigrate to our country as well. The predominant expectation is that money (if not other wants) should come from the foreigner because “he has it and we don’t”.

What happens though is that when that gifting does occur, it’s the start of a slippery slope, and this success breeds greater need from both the initial recipient (who desires more of the good thing) and then those around the recipient – family, extended family, local society or village and so on. When giving does not include an aspect of trade, with a win-win scenario (which has a natural and commensurate cost-cost component) it escalates out of control very quickly, and turns bad – for all.

The really sad part though is not so much the constant demands of a society of opportunists, it is that when the barrel runs dry (and it always does) the people turn against the giver as shame is then caused or perceived (and it always does happen – eventually).

Having both seen this and heard the gory details of this occurring so many times in Samoa, and having been a part of it all personally, I do NOT recommend giving without strict conditions attached. Trading, yes. Giving, no.

In a recent situation where I have been helping someone work through some pretty meaty stuff, I was asked what was in it for me. My reply was two fold – the first answer set the scene for my own personal motivation, the second answered the question specifically. I explained that the prime motivation I had for doing anything was to hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant!” I then explained that what I got out of it all was that I watched another human begin to Hear and Obey the Lord.

Can there be a greater Christmas gift than that?

Enjoy yours and give wisely . . . thanks for swinging by today, and Merry Christmas!

In this interview, Taumarunui’s local historian, Ron Cooke talks about his career, his role within the King Country community and his latest challenges with the closure of The Memory Bank. Enjoy.

I conducted this interview with King Country legend in his office behind the now defunct Memory Bank in December 2018. I first met Ron in January 2018, and caught up with him recently. He was clearly in a pickle with recent developments and needed a hand to help sort things out. We engaged meaningfully over the period of a week or so and this interview took several sessions, going around in circles a little – something that would make sense to those who know the man!

Ron is a character. He’s very trusting and helpful (probably too much so) and he’s a man of detail. Whereas many would whack something like a document or a book out with a spelling mistake here or there, or guesswork when facts are not fully known, not so Ron. It’s got to be right, and he’ll “have the original document here somewhere” as he charges off into the depths of another file or literary resource to show you!

It seems that the dysfunctional relationship between himself and the Museum Trust that he established decades ago has finally broken down. Local community leader Weston Kirton had resolved most of the nasty historical tensions but it’s now ‘curtains’ on his current setup with the trust selling The Memory Bank building and gifting back (or abandoning depending on your take) the core museum resources.

The King Country Education Trust is a joint venture I helped him establish recently and should protect the valuable community resources that the King Country has entrusted him with over the years. Historical photographs, newspapers, documents and so on.

Let’s hear from Ron, then.

DS: I heard recently that you’ve got to move on Ron. What’s happened?

RC: Yes, the [Taumarunui] Museum Trust has sold the building and I’ve got to move out. The new owner has said that I can stay in my office for a few months but we had to clear out all the files to give him vacant possession of the main building, which created me a huge problem.

DS: And you didn’t know that this was coming?

RC: No, I found out through the media. Then later I just got a letter out of the blue telling me that the building sale was proceeding well.

DS: I understand that you spent quite some time moving the resources into safe storage. Tell me about this. You got help?

RC: Yes. I spent 116 hours since the sale moving boxes and boxes of photographs, books, newspapers,documents and negatives. Everything that has ever been donated to us. Fortunately I had some trusted volunteers helping me with some of it but I had to do the majority of the sorting, and it has really caused me problems.

DS: So the trust owned the building but you looked after the resources. Is that how it went?

RC: Yes, pretty much.

DS: And when they sold the building, you moved everything into safe storage, at your expense?

RC: Yes, but only the stuff given to me or that I had promised people to look after. I had to. I had no choice.

DS: Why do you say that?

RC: Because the people had given it all to me over the years and they trusted me as custodian to protect their valuable photos and so on. I had to save it and to protect it all as best as I could.

DS: OK, so I’ve helped you establish a Charitable Trust to hold and protect the resources, tell us why you’ve done this.

RC: Well as you know, this was your suggestion, but I like it because it means that the value will remain after I’m gone. I’m knocking 80 years old now and I was considering donating it all to the council in my will but this is not really core council business. A Society is fine if you’ve got a group of active people but it comes down to the people. A Charitable Trust has tax advantages and has a better chance of protecting the valuable things from generation to generation. A small number of professional trustees with accountability to the government seems to me to be a better way. That’s why I’ve taken your advice.

DS: So there’s work for you to do now but a good future for Ron Cooke?

RC: I hope so! I’ve got several projects on the go at the moment but I’ve got to get over this current challenge . . .

DS: You mean finding a place to work from?

RC: Yes, and funding and sorting out all the resources. It’s a difficult time but when we have to do something we just do it. He helps too, like with your coming back to help.

[Ron is not overtly religious but points up to God when he says “He helps”, meaning that he believes that things happen in his life for a reason]

DS: The council is supportive of your work isn’t it?

RC: Yes, they have helped with part-time office people who have been cataloging all the resources, entering it into a database. They also house the microfiche records of the Taumarunui Press in the library and make it available to the public.

DS: And your son Bevan?

RC: Bevan’s a great help. He does all the database and server work.

DS: In talking around town it seems to me that you’re very well known. You are the go-to guy for everything historical – information, contacts, especially photos . . . how did you become the local historian that everybody knows and respects?

RC: I started as an engineer and then moved into photography. My photography work built up over the years and I gained the trust of the newspaper men of the day. When they moved on I ended up with their historical newspapers and the books of local history I’ve written [Roll Back the Years] have sort of kept me going.

DS: You are spritely for your age but you are aging and have a limited productive time ahead. With the bulk of the resources now in safe hands what is your wish moving forward Ron?

RC: Well first, I need to get back into productive mode. We have to get through this current crisis, but within a year I would hope that we’re in a position to build the collection. Virtually every family has valuable photos and history that is too easily lost. I’d love to be in a position to open the doors and actively invite King Country residents to put their history into the collection. Despite our current problems, when it comes to protecting resources, there really is safety in numbers. A collection like we have is generally recognised as something of value whereas it is too easy for someone to throw out old stuff like photos – either by mistake or because they don’t recognise the value. I’ve seen it happen so many times before. The next generation (like you) will find ways to use and share this resource.

DS: Indeed. Thanks for sharing Ron. Is there anything further that you’d like to add?

RC: Yes . . . thanks. Thanks to you first. You’ve done an incredible amount for me in such a short time, but also the people of Taumaunui too, there’s so many people who have helped me over the years, and who have donated their valuable resources into my custody. Thank you all!

The King Country Education Trust website is www.kcet.nz and we’ve got developments planned for Q1, 2019 – a transition phase as Ron prepares for less of an active management role and more doing what he enjoys and is good at – researching and writing.

My wish is that he can wind down gracefully, rather than burn out and crash! I think he deserves it!

This Open Letter to Justice Vui (a Samoan Supreme Court Judge) answers a question that he put to a Samoan “Be The Man Forum” that opened yesterday. He was discussing an open secret, that Samoa is a violent country, (“Stop Press!” I hear you mock) and he wanted to know the reason why. I reckon he full well knows the answer but that he’s not allowed to say it because he’s a Judge, and not a Priest and that would be offensive in the Samoan culture. So I will.

Dear Clarence (Justice Vui* Clarence Nelson)

In a recent news media article entitled: Violence Against Women – A Disease About To Go Out Of Control it was said:

Supreme Court Judge, Justice Vui Clarence Nelson is alarmed at the increasing number of cases of violence against women on daily basis . . . He said cases brought before the Court were not only towards women and girls, but also against those with special needs.

You are directly quoted thus:

“We see this on a daily and weekly basis, and I cannot imagine where this will end up if we cannot find a solution,”

and

“Do we have an understanding why families in Samoa are like this? . . . I believe that unless we find the root of the problem, we cannot have a solution.”

At the suggestion that there is a need for stronger and severe laws, you are quoted as stating that there are enough laws already.

Another speaker (Aumua) believes unless Samoa reaffirmed the sacred vows of “Feagaiga” between a brother and sister through its custom and culture, the problem will continue to increase.

Sir, you are a smart man. I know, for I have appeared under you and you got to the heart of the problem very quickly [thank you] so I believe that you know very well where the problem stems from. Thus it is clear to me that you will be playing the Samoan game of politics, and not shooting straight, probably so as not to cause offense to others of your community whom you live, work and play with.

I am free from that encumbrance so tell it like it is, you may quote me.

It all began a long time ago, when things were a little different; when things were peaceful and the Lord God walked with His Creation. The problem first appeared when our forefathers chose to go their own way against the Creator’s instructions. The problem wasn’t evil; it wasn’t the temptation; it was the democratic process whereby two individuals conspired to go their own way contrary to God’s instructions. You know the event and its consequences well for you deal with this all day, every day – it is called the Fall.

Nothing has changed in the 4,000+ years since, Clarence, nothing. Mankind is still up itself and as I have explained for years (and more recently in pictorial form) the root cause of all ungodly, anti-social and self-destructive behaviour is pride.

Your people Clarence are proud. That’s the root cause of the violence that you mention, Sir. Nothing else. Deal with that, first in your own life, then in those you have influence over who are under your authority, then you will (as you rightly say) be able to deal with your [pl, Samoa’s] problem.

I know and understand that this is offensive to your Samoan sensitivities, that an outsider, a Palagi should speak ill of you and your people, but I speak the truth for your sakes, not mine and I do this because the Lord would say the exact same thing to you if you would deign to listen to Him.

Clarence, in your culture, you have religion up to your eyeballs. You have professional Priests, Pastors and Ministers whom you all trust in as God’s representatives in Samoa. You have a hybrid political system that serves the people the leadership that they deserve, and you have a unique culture that you [as a people] worship. There is nothing more patronising to the Saviour than to see and hear a people speak the arrogant, ungodly drivel that is “Samoa, mo Samoa” when He gave all.

God seeks what He deserves and until he gets it, first from you, Sir, and then those under your care, your “disease” as you put it, will indeed, “go out of control”.

I turn for a moment to the solution your colleague has promulgated which is to emphasise one aspect of Fa’a Samoa which is “Feagaiga”. This is a noble but foolish recommended solution for it puts faith in a fallible social system, rather than an infallible Creator. I respect the speaker’s passion and yet mock by laughing at the ludicrous solution – suggesting more of the very thing that created if not abetted the initial problem. It’s like trying to borrow to get out of debt, or bashing your kids when they are violent . . . oh wait, sorry, Samoa does those things already!

Sir, I speak in the place of Jesus. He sent me to Samoa and your political leaders had me exported in the scurrilous ways of cowards. Your people are violent because they are ‘up themselves’. The solution is to turn to the One who can forgive them and who has sent the Holy Spirit to empower them.

The solution [prescription in a medical sense] is:

1. To humble yourselves – you already know what the problem is;
2. To listen to the Master – putting your faith in Him directly (and not via some so-called authoritative middleman]; and
3. Doing that which He asks.

I understand that this is difficult for you to say.

I have though, thus you are welcome to quote me.

My advice is to start with the little ones beneath you and ignore the corrupt ones above you. Jesus did.

Dennis.

Commentary

Samoa is a violent country by all measure undertaken. It is not the only country that has violence issues but the people have a tendency to swing a fist before engaging brain.

This violence extends to all areas of life – work, play, faith, politics, family and all social settings. Justice Vui mentions abuse of those with special needs and others speak of family violence, but this violent attitude extends to monetary matters with the political, business and religious leaders all using their power for personal gain (yes I said and meant “all”, for this is systemic as well as individually chosen conduct).

Violence stems from arrogance, pride. When our wife shames us or puts us down (a common thing globally, not just in Samoa) we react with a fist in Samoa. Our thinking is, “How dare she!” and we exercise our perceived right to rule with force. Ditto with children, our political subjects and in a religious sense, our parishioners.

Justice Vui as Supreme Court Judge is a leader in one of the three political control systems, the judicial arm of Central Government (the other two are the religious system and the Matai or local government system). I view his capacity to speak openly in society is limited by cultural norms in the environment he operates in and his own personal career, in which he is in his prime.

Should he buck the system and really speak it like it is, he would probably have the Chief Justice sent to rot in jail tomorrow; the Prime Minister shortly thereafter; every religious leader in the country would hate him and preach against him and just like the Prime Minister’s political adversary that was assassinated and of course the Master, he’d be dead within three years.

There is a huge growing recognition, particularly within the Samoan Diaspora, that the Samoan political system is corrupt, and in particular the Prime Minister Tuila’epa. I view this recognition as very healthy. What is equally noticeable though to an outsider is that the recognition that has occurred outside the islands themselves has little effect upon those on-island. They seem mesmerised and incapable of breaking out of the [corrupt] status quo.

The reason is exactly that same that Justice Vui cannot and does not speak the above, even if he agreed with me and wanted to say it. Politics and power.

Sacrificial giving though is the only way forward for Samoa. Giving for Him. I shared this in one of my most important posts about Samoa in 2013. The sentiments within have never and will never change.

* Vui is Clarence’s Matai title name; Clarence is his firstname; Nelson his surname; Justice his work title.

They laughed when the Slow Bunny wandered up to the starting line, just minutes before the race began.

“Typical of that old fool!” they mocked. “Look he’s just chatting away to those officials as if the race isn’t even going to start on time!”

It didn’t.

One minute past the hour, two minutes past the hour and one of the officials suddenly noticed that they had all been laughing and joking so much with the Slow Bunny that the race started late. The other rabbits were all furious that the Slow Bunny had delayed the race by those two minutes and took off at a rate of knots when the starter’s gun finally fired.

The Slow Bunny too started off like the rest but paused after a few hops, then turned to the officials he had just got chummy with. He stopped and shouted back to them, “Join us at the other end for the party why don’t you?”

“Great idea!”

“Sure will!”

“See you there, Slow Bunny!”

“What do you drink, Mr Bunny?” some smart official asked as Slow Bunny hopped off into the distance.

“Whatever you’re going to bring!” Slow Bunny shouted back as he hopped off into the distance.

It wasn’t a long racecourse but it did wind its way through a few properties and across a schoolyard, under a road and across a park . . . but first he had to negotiate the carrot paddock. What a temptation that was going to be!

“Those other fast rabbits were sure to have eaten the best of the carrots,” was all he could think as he rounded the corner.

No! He could see all their rabbit tracks going through, around and even right over those beautiful carrots. He stopped to nibble on one, but it was so nice he ate it all. Then hopped a little more and repeated the exercise. “This is definitely one of the better races I’ve been involved in the Slow Bunny chuckled to himself.

When he got to the school he met up with some children playing cricket outside. They were actually not on the cricket pitch, they were searching for their cricket ball at the edge of the field. “Oh I know where your ball will be!” the Slow Bunny said, and he started to dig into the rabbit warren to retrieve their ball.

A big thank you came the Slow Bunny’s way and the children asked him what all the rabbits were doing going out in the daytime like that. The Slow Bunny told them all about the race and how they were going to have a big party at the end of the race.

“Well the other rabbits went that way but if you cut through the bush and across the river this way then you’ll get there faster!” one of the boys suggested. When the Slow Bunny looked puzzled, the children explained that they had just built a brand new bridge across the river. It was now a much quicker way to go.

“Oh thank you everyone – do enjoy your game!” the Slow Bunny wished them well.

“Well, so, what’s the menu gonna be at your party Slow Bunny? Rabbit food?” one of the cheeky girls asked him. The others laughed at the girl’s joke.

“Not if you bring something else!” the Slow Bunny replied with a smile!

He crossed the new bridge and found himself almost right in the centre of the park. He hopped off to the burrow that went right under the road. “That’s funny he thought,” there were no rabbit trails in this burrow at all. Maybe he was in the wrong place after taking the new bridge? Surely he couldn’t be ahead of the other rabbits could he? Maybe he was?

He was a short way into the burrow under the road when he heard it getting closer and closer, a distant rumbling sound . . . like . . . just like a million rabbits all pounding down on top of him. He tried to get to one side in the tunnel to let the others past and got knocked left, right, in his ears, his little tail got muddy and his eyes full of soil. He was battered and bruised from letting the others go through so much that he sat there stunned for a good couple of minutes before he limped to the end of the tunnel, out into daylight and met up with the other rabbits at the finish line.

“My goodness!” one of the faster rabbits shouted, “Here comes the Slow Bunny like he’s been digging his way here! Look at him all dirty and dusty. However did you get here so fast?”

The timekeeper clicked his stopwatch as the Slow Bunny hopped across the line and there was only three minutes between the winner and the Slow Bunny.

“Incredible!” he said. I would never have guessed it but my watch never lies and we all saw him with our own eyes didn’t we?

The rest of the officials all came up and congratulated the winners. They shared lots of drinks and then had a special award for Slow Bunny – carrot juice! “No thanks fellas! I’ve had enough carrots for the day – that carrot paddock was a dream come true wasn’t it?”

The other rabbits stared at the Slow Bunny again incredulous . . . “You mean you actually stopped and ate some of them?” they wondered how he could have had the time to do that. “We never dared to slow down, so that we could win the race!”

“But only one of you actually won the race and you are all now hungry?” the Slow Rabbit asked – it was his turn to be incredulous. Then when he could hear the children in the distance, he said simply, “No matter. Refreshments are arriving just in time. Don’t be afraid. Stay here. My friends are coming.”

The children arrived and shared their food with all the other hungry rabbits. The Slow Bunny looked on with pride. He had been trampled in the tunnel and hadn’t won the race but he had heaps of new friends with the officials and his new friends from the school whom he had helped find their ball were now his good friends.

That made his day.

And just to top it all off, they told the other rabbits that they were silly to have run all the way around the river when they could have just used the new bridge. Slow Bunny had bothered to stop and help them find their ball down a rabbit burrow – that’s why he knew about the new bridge.

Oh the fun they all had laughing and joking about how ‘lucky’ the Slow Bunny was, but that really, everybody loved him, even though he was so S-L-O-W!

As they were all departing for their homes, they looked around for the Slow Bunny. They could see him a couple of houses down the road chatting up a dog with its owner on one side and a cat with her owner on the other side of a fence.

“That’s our Slow Bunny!” one of the fast rabbits quipped. “That little fella would make friends with anybody. Next thing he’ll be chatting up the milkman!”

The others had all gone when the Slow Rabbit leaned back into the fencepost and smiled at the dog. “If my owner wasn’t here . . . ” he could read in the dog’s eyes.

Then the bells from the milk truck rang in the distance . . . “Ah yes! Anyone want some milk?” he asked.

They’d all gone but Slow Bunny was still there, and he liked milk, especially at the end of a busy day!

The bird man had been playing with birds since he was, well, his son’s age. “I’ll never forget the time the stranger spoke to me as a child”, he was saying pensively. “He was there beside me like he knew me all his life, actually!”

His son looked over at the stranger, and asked his father who the man was. “Go and ask him, if you like”, the father prompted. “Ask him about the bird farm and how it all began. He knows.”

The boy walked over to the stranger and started talking to him.

“Your father was a good man with the birds even when he was a boy your age”, the man explained. “He had a duck in his hands once, and it had a broken leg. He fed it and nursed it back to good health. Then that duck brought his friends down from up in the hills to stay. It all started from there . . . ”

“When the geese arrived and he fed them, they left their huge big eggs behind, which he sold. The turkeys arrived and stayed too. As he sold them off to the village people (mostly at Christmas time actually) he then built hen runs with the money and planted trees. Eventually people came from all around to see him with his birds. It was almost like he could talk to them and they understood.

“When he married your mother she helped him sort the bird farm out and started charging the people to see them all. The visitors all liked different kinds – some liked the white doves; others the pigeons; others the fantails or the native birds. Some people couldn’t wait to see the talking parrots and especially the one who said the naughty words!”

The boy was listening to the man talk as if he too had known him forever. He asked about the peacocks. “When did my father get the peacocks?” he asked the stranger.

“Hmmmm . . . not long ago, actually. He had a huge bird farm by then and people kept telling him that he should get some. Your mother hated their screeching and it took a long time before she got used to their arrogance.

“Speak to your mother when you get a chance and ask her what she thinks about them!” the stranger suggested.

The boy bid the stranger farewell and walked through the bird farm a little wiser now. He saw the huge hen house that gave up hundreds of eggs every day and looked at it differently. Instead of complaining that he had to work in a stinky hen house, he saw it as something his father had made – every single piece of roofing iron his Dad had nailed on.

When he walked past the duck pond he knew that those ducks had all come of their own volition and stayed. He now knew that they were all there because of just one duck that his father had cared for back into health. “That’s my Dad!” he was now proud of.

Then as he got to the peacock enclosure he watched as the ones with huge big tail feathers in the air strutted their stuff. Talk about showing off! He could see the two sides of those peacocks now that the stranger had got him thinking – “Why did Dad take so long before he got them?” and “Why did the people all want to see these peacocks, but his mother didn’t want them?”

What did Dad know? What did his mother know?

It was a few weeks later that he saw the funniest thing in the peacock paddock. There was one of the peacocks with only a few feathers in his tail! This peacock was strutting around like all the others showing off like he always had, but he had nothing much to show!

The boy laughed his head off. “You look so silly!” he shouted out, but the peacock just ignored him and kept trying to show off. The boy returned to the peacock paddock every day after that and watched as the peacock not only lost his tail feathers but also his other feathers too.

“Mum, the peacock that lost his tail feathers is now naked!” the boy explained. “He looks so stupid – skinny and yet he keeps on acting like he’s got a huge pretty tail, but he hasn’t!”

His mother joined him and as they walked down the path she whispered hate towards those “noisy showoffs”. She almost spat the words out, “Just you wait until I get my hands on them!”

They watched the naked peacock together. “Stupid bird!” his mother whispered, so that the customers couldn’t hear her. “Doesn’t he look silly – trying to show off but he’s got nothing to show!”

The boy wandered over to the stranger once he was alone again, and said the same thing to him as his mother said, “Doesn’t he look silly – trying to show off but he’s got nothing to show!”

The stranger was quiet, and never spoke for quite a long time. They looked at the naked peacock together, then eventually he spoke, just one word . . . “Sad!”

This made the boy think. He hadn’t seen the situation that way before. “Sad? Why so?” he asked his friend.

“Your father understands. He should explain it to you,” the stranger replied.

After dinner, the boy asked his father why the stranger thought it was sad that the naked peacock still thought he had something to show off, when he didn’t.

His father told him the story, about how things were not always fair in this world; about how we think we know it all, and how when we grow up we tend to think that the world revolves around us. He explained that we are all like the naked peacock to come extent and that even though we grow old and lose everything that we used to be proud of, that it’s a hard lesson to learn later in life if we’ve allowed to be a show-off when we were younger. He then talked about patterns of behaviour, and getting trapped in one line of thought.

Then the father scared his son a little when he suggested that the naked peacock would probably end up in his mother’s cooking pot if he didn’t change his ways pretty quickly.

The boy had come to like the naked peacock and didn’t want that to happen to him now. He’d changed from seeing this bird as something to laugh at, into something that he felt sad for, and now was really worried about.

The next day he took some of the best bird seed down to the peacock paddock and threw it around for them all. When the naked peacock came close he slipped a little more in his direction. “Please, Mr Peacock, can you learn to be quiet? Try not to show off, otherwise you’ll end up in Mum’s cooking pot!” he would try to say in bird talk.

Every day for the next week he would slip down to see the naked peacock but because he was giving the bird so much attention, it only made things worse. Sensing that he was getting special treatment from the boy, the naked peacock got even more cocky and made more noise than ever.

It wasn’t working and he was sad, and, yes, if he was honest about it, frightened. Frightened that the naked peacock would become peacock stew in short order.

The stranger seemed to understand and suggested that pride can be an ugly thing in the end. It was like he knew all along that the peacock would never change his ways. He knew that the peacock would get worse and that nothing he could do or say could change that – didn’t he?

“All you can do is accept it, son,” the stranger said, “And enjoy the stew when it is put on the table in front of you!”

That got his attention and he looked up at the stranger who was looking down at him with a lovely caring smile. It was almost as if it was okay to eat the naked peacock!

Now he truly was confused . . . first the stranger called it sad that the silly bird was still trying to show off; then his father taught him to be kind and patient to the poor bird; then all his mother wanted to do was to cook his little friend; then he had done his level best to help the naked peacock and that only made it worse; and now after all of that the stranger was telling him that he should enjoy eating the peacock stew that was surely about to happen, and probably very soon too!

The visitors weren’t really interested in his friend. They came to see the beautiful tail feathers of the big peacocks, not some scrawny, naked, noisy little thing waltzing around the enclosure as if he owned the place.

The guests were ready for anything, roast duck, fried chicken or a mystery stew – nobody knew what his mother had arranged for this special evening meal. Or so she thought. The boy went white with dread. He knew. His father looked over and winked. He knew. The guests dug in and loved the succulent peacock stew. “Eat up son, it’ll be good for you!” his father was saying. But how could he eat this particular stew, after all he had gone though?

“Yup! This is a fine stew my dear. Bet you enjoyed cooking this old bird tonight eh?”

“You betcha I did!” his mother replied with a huge grin on her face.

“All you can do is accept it, son,” his father said, “And enjoy the stew when it is put on the table in front of you!”

That was exactly what the stranger said! His father knew about that too?

The stranger was understanding the next day. He didn’t speak a lot, but what he did say helped the boy understand things a great deal. We’re all proud people . . . we all tend to think about our own lot in life . . . we learn to look after ourselves and how to get what we want when we’re younger, which makes it harder to humble ourselves when we’re older. The other peacocks that lost their plumage escaped the pot but the noisy one that wouldn’t listen to the boy and his desperate pleading to . . . well, STFU . . . that was his fate – an inevitable, untimely end.

“My Dad’s not like that silly naked peacock is he? That’s why he’s so quiet and the birds love him so much, eh?”

“Uh huh!” the stranger agreed.

“I hope that when I’m like that proud peacock that somebody tries to warn me, like I tried to warn him!” the boy thought aloud.

“Would you listen to them if they did?” the stranger asked the boy.

He thought, long and hard. Would he? Could he?

They spoke together . . . “Yes!” and the boy added, “If I want to!” at which the stranger smiled. He knew!

When David took on Goliath, there was a fair bit of ego involved. Granted that one of those egos related to his size and braun and the other was faith in a living God, but to think that David didn’t dance on the big man’s dead body might be a little naive! I reckon he let it rip and had a huge party.

Warfare

Whatever, ego ALWAYS leads to a decent fight, or at least a showdown sooner or later. Slingshot, six-shooters, lances, or nukes it’s always the same . . . and somebody’s going to get their comeuppance in any fight. Sometimes it is both parties and nobody wins but it can be that there is a winner and a loser – if fought to the death.

I’m like that, and have the propensity to escalate a fight to the death. The phrase I use to describe this approach is that I never give up – ever. I also say things like, “I am a man of principle, I am a black and white guy,” that I will fight for the truth, or the little guy, or no matter what the consequences.

I often use an analogy that when you tie the big man’s shoe-laces it is inevitable that he will fall – all you gotta do is get the setup right (the shoelaces part) then taunt him, tease him, bait him and let him make the move – he’ll fall by his own weight and movement. Like David, when Goliath was destined to death even before he fell, so too a big man like David Hay, with his shoelaces tied, he will fall.

While I don’t go around killing people as a habit, I can and do name the arrogant, the bullies and people I call “crooks, crims & crazies”, on my Hall of Shame which is my way of dealing to injustice – exposure. Sir David John Hay gains infamy today by joining others who have crossed my path and made fools of themselves in various ways. David gains this credential through acting poorly in a commercial dispute, which I will shortly detail for the macabre record.

The Commercial Conflict

There are many important takehomes from this specific sorry saga. As I said to David in person recently (forgive the language but this is what was actually spoken) “Some people are arseholes by nature and others are seen to be arseholes by showing others up for who they really are!” This was in the context of a rather testy exchange where the big-shot businessman showed patronising contempt for a little pr*ck businessman [me of course] who dared to challenge him and his company. “Get a life son; do you really enjoy what you do [causing the rest of us good guys problems]” was the general intent of his mocking. It was a bit ugly but his contempt oozed arrogance and to be quite honest, ‘p*ssed me off’.

David Hay is a powerful businessman with many companies and staff. He isn’t known for generosity among his tenants and they generally fear him – that’s not a crime though – he has every right to keep his dollars for himself and to squeeze his tenants however he likes. I though, have no fear and can and did stand up to his arrogance in a commercial dispute. I effectively tied his shoelaces (by doing everything right) then when I had no other option left, I sued him. He may not realise it yet, maybe he is starting to get the picture, but the way I look at it all, he’s a dead man walking now, trapped by his own arrogance, set up for a fall, and in a very public way.

My claim is that his company did something wrong (technically it is called a breach of contract) and that this cost me (my company). I did the honourable thing and approached him personally, explained the problem that one of his staff created for us; I sought to discuss the matter face to face, then when he told me to p*ss off, I took the matter to court*. I will win this court case without a doubt because I speak the truth, have the evidence and from what I’ve seen David is a rank amateur at conflict resolution, and clearly a novice in dealing with court matters.

The background to our dispute is that one of his tenants and I did some business together in which we installed a 40′ high cube container into the tenant’s carpark. One of David Hay’s companies was my mate’s landlord. We sought permission from the tenants on either side who had no issue with either the presence or the location of the container. David’s Property Manager too checked it all out in the first week of its arrival, privately – all sweet.

Goliath’s The big guy’s man said [paraphrased] that the container was there for 116 days but that they “only just found out about it” [BS] and that it had to go . . . forthwith. They gave a whole bunch of reasons which were all either valid or seemed perfectly reasonable.

We said, “Sure, no problem, we’ve already arranged for another place so we’ll do whatever you want!” We agreed to a departure date, and a few other technicalities but two hours later an email arrived. Sorry, so sorry but you gotta go inside 7 days not 21 days. Ummmm, hang on, you can’t do that, we say.

In commercial law when a contract is entered into, any breach of that contract becomes a tort, i.e. a legal problem, for the one who has broken that contract – unsurprisingly David Hay included. The aggrieved party has a right to enforce the original contract and if costs have been incurred as a result of that breach, they can ask the courts to award those costs by way of damages. There’s a whole lot more to this in legal mumbo jumbo but basically if you do what you say you will there cannot be any problem [usually] and if you don’t do what you agree to then you’re in the sh*t legal trouble.

A critical factor in this ‘contract’ thing is that a verbal agreement is a contract (in legal terms) and is actually legally binding. Many people do not realise this and think that because there is no signature and no piece of paper, then there is no contract. This is NOT correct – a verbal agreement is legally binding – you’ve just got to prove on the balance of probabilities what that contract was in a court setting.

Furthermore even if there is an implied agreement (for example if something has been done a certain way for any reasonable length of time) then this too can become legally enforceable. This is the legal principle of estoppel – the fancy pants word comes from French  [a bung] – you are stopped from unilaterally changing something that has been previously clearly accepted.

So these goons listened to some gossip and changed the agreement on us unilaterally. Property Manager Alan Fenton slipped us an email and we had a couple of choices – comply, fight, or be tricky dudes and play games. I can and could have done any of these but chose to comply, then approached the big-shot personally. An email exchange occurred. I warned him that he was defaming my company and me; that he was working with partial and incorrect information from people with vested interests (his staff wanted to protect their butts and the gossip-mongers wanted us out – some people can be real sneaky pricks can’t they?) and I invited him to sit down and talk about things man-to-man.

I told him that I didn’t want a fight with him but that injustice had occurred at his hands and David’s response “this has all grown out of proportion” and “I won’t talk about it any more” shows the real man up as arrogant and a bully. That he also chose to believe gossip is simply foolishness. Speak to another dude who learned the price of leaning on gossip, Savea Sano Malifa about that if you want another example of this.

Then when the court case came, his secretary Sue Gerber slipped a request for the case to be adjourned into the court. “Keith Hay Homes Ltd knows nothing about what this is all about!” she said. BS. Sue Gerber personally as David Hay’s secretary received the first three emails relating to the case. Oops! Oh dear – caught, pants down! Why ever would a company secretary lie I wonder? Surely she wouldn’t do this on her own bat would she? I mean in the office next door was her boss. Perhaps she was instructed to . . . oh dear . . . Mr Hay, do you hate me for exposing these ethics? Why? I’m just applying logic onto facts . . .

The Ethics

So that’s now three people from this crowd who operate unethically – 1) Alan Fenton who lies (that he only just found out, when in fact he knew from the outset) and breaches contract on a whim and based on gossip; 2) Sue Gerber who lies to the court about not knowing anything when she did; and 3) the head poncho himself who got fooled by gossip, doesn’t give a rat’s behind whether his companies actions caused damages to the little guy, almost certainly instructed his secretary to try to “have it on with the court” . . . you get the picture, I’m sure by now. Not good!

But none of this is anything new in the world. People lie and steal every day. Big guys squeeze the little guys and concepts such as ethical conduct, honouring your agreements and justice are foreign to many, unfortunately. So why the big deal over Mr Hay? Several reasons:

1. First he is a ‘Sir’;
2. His attitude and ethics are IMHO contemptuous;
3. He took me on; and
4. He claims a Christian faith;

For whatever reason, the leaders of New Zealand bestowed him a title “Sir”. He accepted that and thus exposure of his conduct is in the public interest. If he’s a crook or a good-guy that public interest is the same. I as most people would expect a “Sir” to conduct themselves ethically. I met and my parents knew Sir Edmund Hillary years ago and while he might have been a bit brutal in his language for his day “knocking the bastard off!” he was straight. That’s what we as a society expect from our knights, isn’t it? David inherited his wealth and has built upon it – I can now see the way that he did this. If he will do this to me, he’ll do it to others for sure, and as a Christian (albeit non-denominational and one who pushes the boundaries) I consider exposure of wolves in sheep’s fleeces within our midst important.

The Lessons

This sorry saga has huge and important lessons for observers. In my experience people of David Hay’s ilk rarely repent or apologise, instead slandering, lying, covering up and making things worse for their victim, but for those of us who do learn and want to understand from others foolishness, here is my take:

1. When somebody comes to you with a problem, listen to them. Don’t argue straight up. Give them the time of day, look ’em straight in the eye and give ’em respect. If you don’t then don’t expect them all to just go away. Some of them may stand up and fight;
2. Work with facts. If you listen to gossip and if you get sucked in by it (for whatever reason – they are your staff or you have a position of power over them as landlord, or otherwise) then you may end up paying in the end for that trust in gossip;
3. Turning off communication is a killer. When you say, “I will not talk anymore about it!” you draw a line in the sand. This is an ultimatum which means effectively, “You now have two choices – bugger off or escalate the matter”. Do not be surprised then if you end up with a ‘situation’ on your hands!
4. Pick your fights. Nobody is perfect and you will always end up in a fight with someone, somewhere, sometime. Pick those fights and be ready to defend if you are attacked unjustly. Some people can have genuine complaints. Consider whether each fight is worthy to be fought. I get this all the time. Dennis, you’ve been pinging Bartercard, or BBX or [whoever] what about *** – they’re just as bad. I choose who I wish to take on and whom to leave alone;
5. Do things right – all the time and pre-empt trouble. When you do this you can never lose in a fair trial or examination. This applies to legal stoushes and personal ones. As an example, I confess openly and often up-front that “I love the sound of my own voice” which is a direct quote from Victor Hafichuk’s correct accusation a few years ago. I also explain in advance that I can be a prized pr*ck or if the situation demands it a real c*nt due to my determination and unwillingness to deny truth or justice for pragmatic reasons. In a commercial situation (like with our stoush with David Hay) I readily admitted that we had to move on, that we would (and did comply). That left us totally free to focus on his breach of contract. It was not a tit-for-tat situation because we did things right and . . . ;
6. Collect critical evidence. There is no point turning up at court and telling the court that the other guy is a bad guy. There is no point in even arguing something factual in court unless you have the evidence. I learned this important lesson 43 years ago in my first legal stoush, when a judge said, Mr Smith, I find in your favour BECAUSE YOU SHOWED ME THE EVIDENCE;
7. Don’t play tricky with the court. They’re not interested. One of David Hay’s big mistakes in his approach to our conflict was to try to be smart – with me by muscling me, patronising me and telling me to be grateful that they didn’t sue us. Then with the court, by pretending to not know what the case was all about, then trying it on again in court attempting to hide the real entity. Eventually the Adjudicator found the facts and we proceeded – nothing constructive gained. In the process though David Hay showed his real colours – crooked;
8. Find the truth before you have to go to court. In our dispute I scratched my head in amazement that David looked across the table and genuinely wanted to know something from me. It was a crucial piece of the puzzle and I told him the answer immediately. I found it incredible that a senior businessman didn’t even know the facts before he went to court! All he had to do was ask me months before and I would have told him!
9. Never go to court nor ask a question in court unless you already know the answer. The reason for this is that you may get an answer that destroys your case/story. The reason that I have never lost a court case in 43 years of standing up for justice is that I will only ever go to court if I know the FULL score. I do this for one reason – I hate losing. I therefore do things right, have the evidence and never give up;
10. Deal with the core issues. In our case against David Hay’s company there is a truckload of history – he said, she said, he did, she did and on and on, but there is only one core crucial thing that really matters – the contract. Was there one, and if so what was it? From there all else flows – was it breached and if so when and how and to who’s disadvantage;
11. Have your witnesses there. David Hay first claimed that he was upset at having to attend what he saw as a ‘frivolous’ court case and wasting his time. Then he didn’t have his key witness(es) there and then wanted an adjournment. Duh! Even worse though was that the week before I had given him this exact same counsel – be prepared and have the right people there.

I guess there’s not necessarily any connection between wealth and wisdom.

David Hay has shown me to be a bully in business. He is a man with power, wealth and prestige but little understanding of reality around him. He is deceived by his staff and tenants who obviously fear him feeding him BS for various purposes. He has little understanding of court processes and procedures, has no compunction about playing ‘silly-buggers’ in order to try to get one up on others, all this with blatant disregard for the position of others he has caused losses to.

Sir David John Hay, Managing Director of multiple entities which he calls the “Keith Hay Group”, is now on my Hall of Shame. He has a right of reply at any time which I will post in full unmoderated should he ever deign to speak to a mere mortal like me.

He is under a written defamation warning and has not identified one misrepresentation within anything I have said in court, in court documents or in direct written or phone conversation.

I stand by what I have said above and unless there is a correction or matters are resolved through professional processes, I fully expect the court to award us costs in due course. I’ll update this post accordingly.

To David, I say:

Your shoelaces are tied. Step and you will fall. I have warned you that you do not know the full story, that the information you are and have been working with is incomplete and false; I speak and have spoken the truth.

I advise you to do the honourable thing, Sir.

New Zealand’s top blogger, Cameron Slater used to say (until he got his wings clipped a little and toned it down), NFWAB (Never F*ck With A Blogger). It’s not the blogging aspect that matters so much as being fearless to speak and hold out for the truth. Blogging simply amplifies a situation. That can be highly threatening for those with skeletons in the closet. David has some.

He (Cam) also says frequently that “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”. Sir David Hay may not appreciate exposure like this, but if he and his support circle have any of the proverbial, they will use it as a huge wakeup call and get real and grow up. If they do, I will support them in that endeavour but it will not be at the price of truth, nor under threat.

This post is not about me. It is not even about David Hay. It is about justice and truth and standing up for it. Like a rock in a river causes a wake, so too does a truthseeker, more correctly a truth-speaker.

Thank you for swinging by again today. Hopefully the three hours I spent writing this will be appreciated by someone, somewhere, sometime.

Go and make the world a better place. Tie a few shoelaces of your own then tell me who the Giant was who fell when he stepped out without checking that all was in order first.

* I also invited him to bring in his leadership from his church prior to this which is a core teaching of Christianity – deal with it in house if you can. He either doesn’t understand this or doesn’t care about it or chose not to for whatever reason, that’s his business.

This is false.

The statement from ASX Senior Advisor (Compliance Listing) Lisa Banh that Bartercard was sold legitimately is factually incorrect and is designed to cover-up the fraudulent sale by a CEO (Iain Dunstan) acting directly against the shareholders’ best interests.

This is a time-sensitive matter with the sale to be consummated within days.

IMHO Lisa Banh needs to investigate the sale and immediately suspend the share trading of ASX:INP in the interim while a short sharp investigation is conducted.

I have previously blogged the key questions which remain unanswered – where and when was the sale notified? Who did the valuation? Why has the Board permitted a sale at less than book value and to an entity in which conflicts of interest are obvious? How can an auction result in a negotiated deal? Why were willing cash buyers with willingness to pay much higher amounts not given opportunity to buy the Bartercard business?

For people who are interested in this asset, justice or preventing the Smiles in Suits from outworking their devious plan to rob the public, their time is now. Shareholders in ASX:INP – you are being fleeced. It is possible that some of you are in on the game, especially noted if you ignore warnings of losses!

Rest assured that when the sale goes through all evidence will strangely disappear, including those who aided and abetted this criminal act.

This is a warning to ASX and the people associated with any complaint into ASX:INP that they have been deceived over this sale and my advice is to proceed with great care.

The graphic above represents the way that pride provides the platform for the two main pillars of human failings. While most see the symptoms at the top, some dig deeper and identify the pain and fear* in a given situation, rarely do we see human pride identified. Even less rarely do we see the solution spoken about or implemented. Briefly you can see the truth in this graphic (which is actually the Christian worldview) by thinking of any human ill manifesting in your own world – alcoholism, addictions, suicidal tendencies, lies, arrogance or violence, greed, self-interest, immorality – you name it. Then identify whether it is fear or pain (or both) that fuels and drives that human ill. Guaranteed that pride will be the root of that fear or pain.

If you reverse the process you can also see this truth a different way. When we choose humility, there is no place for fear or pain. They crumble and dissolve naturally and without effort, for pride is the enabler and creates the environment (in a spiritual sense this is authority) in which fear and/or pain can exist. When fear and pain are permitted to exist (again when they have spiritual authority to exist) the myriad consequential manifestations are to be expected – they are only natural.

Before I get into the solution I share some recent examples of pain from my life in the last week or so. You don’t have to push the boundaries like me to experience pain. It is par for the course, if you are alive anyway!

Physical Pain

I got whiplash from a shoulder charge given my by an angry landlord on Friday the 12th October. He’s damaged goods in some ways and has some personal issues. Cutting a long story short he bottled up his challenges with having another body around his land and lashed out with what is called (in legal terms) a “Retaliatory Termination”. Basically he told us to “F” off because we had an argument over how the power should be calculated, so he terminated our lease. Everything paid up I hasten to add, if you’re thinking that it was a fight over money.

Retaliatory Terminations are illegal and a criminal act. There is a process to go through to declare them retaliatory and thus illegal and that is underway. In the meantime we have a stubborn tenant who knows the law [that’s yours truly in case you hadn’t worked that one out] and resists any bullying from a landlord with anger issues [that’s him!]. I copped it, plus a little more with an extended period of conflict – physical violence doesn’t go well with me and I ended up flat on my back in hospital with a very sore head undergoing a range of tests, CT scan and the works. Because of my heart failure issues and the medication I was on they didn’t want to risk anything.

Pain. But this was the physical pain. This is not the kind of pain we’re talking about here. The emotional pain comes from pride and it manifests like this . . . “Why me? Why the f*** can’t people just get on with each other? Why can’t people just do what they say and say what they mean instead of lashing out like lunatics and dumping their problems onto others? And specifically this means . . . ME!

In a perfect world this sort of thing wouldn’t happen, but since the old folks screwed up way back when in the Garden of Eden, we’ve not been living in Paradise. Things go awry from time to time – eh wot? When I choose to humble myself and get over my ‘right’ to have perfection around me, then this dude’s anger problems are just to be expected. Who knows, if I was in his shoes I might deck me too if I was bigger than me. You get what I mean?

Now we’re down to just physical pain and that took a week to dissipate. Big deal.

Self Destructive Pain Relieved

Then I helped a poor lady who had been fighting the Bartercard Beast for quite a while. My help in advising her, getting her to do things like writing it all down for me and protecting her interests then led into her decision to stand up to the bullies. She determined that she was going to take them on (with my help of course). Suddenly as she humbled herself and sought help, she started to act constructively and suddenly she could see that justice may actually be possible, and life was different. She perked up and is now a lot more relaxed, less stressful and when she realised that there was help out there; there was hope, she could then laugh and smile and be a great mother to her kids and . . . well again you can see the picture – fear gone (or at least addressed constructively) and bingo, the worry and consequential stuff has no right to exist. Listen to her exact words now and see the freedom that comes when pride is identified and dealt with.

BC [conflict] makes my blood BOIL.

Then now . . .

Thank you for your words of reassurance. Really appreciate it. I’m fine, really. Have been praying hard and have faith and resolve.

This lady will win her court case against Bartercard I know because she is smart, speaks and deals with the truth and has a firm resolve with solid moral ground and great support. Her opposition is none of that.

Pain . . . going.

Trying-Too-Hard Pain

Then there is another ‘mate’ of mine who sent me this little snippet – a gem of wisdom gained. I’ll address it in a little more detail because it is hugely significant for him because as you can see from my reply, he is learning to humble himself and is maturing in the process. It’s a great lesson for the rest of us. Understand here please that we have a strong relationship and have known each other and worked together for a decade or so.

[Greeting redacted] I’ve come to the conclusion over the past month that, You can’t help the people Does not matter who or what it is, even if people are motivated by something the motivation will fade. This is why I feel you can try bring people together but they all have different wants and needs. I cannot see a way forward trying to help others. [Small talk redacted]

When you understand this guy, that he is a genuine caring fella, a regular selfless nice-guy who just wants to help others and needs or asks for nothing in return for himself when he does reach out, then this little snippet is loaded with . . . yes you guessed it . . . pain.

Emotional pain. It comes from his trying too hard and/or unrealistic expectations.

So let’s dig deeper to understand how this pain retains its existence which then causes this man to want to give up in despair (if I’m reading him right). Remember that his only mission in life is to help others. That’s what he is built for – it’s in his genes. He’s extraordinarily humble in that sense. He’s not about himself or his ego or getting things from others. But his pride is causing him traumas because he is pained. Mostly likely he is hurting that he sees no return when others come and go, nor any point in pushing onwards trying to help people.

I won’t know until I catch up with him sometime what this is all about but knowing him he’s probably opened his doors to others in need and gotten his fingers burned. I suspect that some have come around him motivated to do something with him then fallen by the wayside, or trashed him somehow.

The point is (for Christians at least) that we have no right to harbour resentment (pain). Oh sure we all experience it and we can have it – in my case I think that the Prime Minister of Samoa is just a common crook with unbridled power up there and that he’s a gutless coward to do what he did behind closed doors to get rid of me – that’s all very real – but to harbour that resentment is pride – mine. Facts are facts though so until the coward in charge of Samoa changes his tune, I will speak them and long after he is gone too if I outlast him.

Likewise with this guy – he’s hurting because he has some perception that he’s entitled to something in return for his good heart and giving.

Listen then to my reply to him, and see if you can pick up the threads of the Christian worldview as I help him to work through that pain. I intersperse commentary as I go so that you can see my thinking in a real-life, real-time mentoring situation. I know this guy and he wouldn’t mind if I used his real name, he’s that humble but I won’t, deliberately.

Hey [name redacted]

Sounds like you’ve been up to your old tricks – again – giving to those who think will appreciate it and not getting anywhere in the process? People are like that eh?

So what I have done here is to try to lighten the load for this poor guy. I’ve identified that this is not the first time it’s happened [for I know him well] and I’ve ‘framed’ his pain into the words that he’s “not getting anywhere” which should (if I am right)  connect with him. If I’ve got it right he should be saying – “Yes! Nisi has got it! [My close friends call me Nisi, an abbreviation of the Samoan transliteration of Dennis – Tenisi ].” He may also be thinking now along my lines that his pain is being caused by HIS issues and not the actions of those unappreciative ones who have hurt him.

This reframing is a manipulative act, which if trust does not exist could cause conflict between us, but because I know that he respects me and that we can rectify any misunderstanding if it ever arises (we’ve done this before) I went straight in and reframed his struggles at the outset. My goal was to bring him from frustration at others to understanding that he had issues that were actually more important to work through than the rest of the world’s.

I now get even more direct and am moving closer to a prescriptive phase fairly quickly. I can only do this because I know that he feels heard, and that he knows I care.

Bro, you gotta understand that people are people. Look at what Samoa did to us. I’ve found that when I try to help people, I only get slapped in the face – the same as you. It’s a good lesson in humility. When you see Jesus strung up on the cross it doesn’t always connect to us here today but when you realise that when we get trashed for doing the right thing too, that this is OUR cross TODAY, then it makes more sense.

OK so again I know that this man shares a Christian faith, so I am free to discuss this sort of thing without hesitation. What I have done, (or at least hope to have done) is to connect his suffering to the Master’s. The reason I do this is that my prescription (which is about to follow) has a faith component to it and he needs to – indeed it is critical that – he needs to see the connection between what Jesus did and his own life, personality and tendencies to give.

Now I get to the point and hit him between the eyes. Again please understand that our relationship is strong here and I have taken the liberty to be direct many times before and he’s appreciated it.

I’ve found that whenever I get hurt that eats into me so much that I go under, then I have to humble myself. I’m usually trying too hard. It’s God’s business not mine to save the world. I have learned over the years to just do my part, what He specifically wants me to do, and leave the rest to Him. Much more faith and less striving, worry and pain!

This guy is self-aware enough to apply my situation into his. He will be saying straight away to himself, “Yup, Nisi is telling me to humble myself!” and he’ll be right. He may come back to me and check that is what I meant but he’ll know. That’s the beauty of humility. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon or Rocket Scientist to know truth.

The secret I have found is to do things for Him, not me. When I give to others I choose those whom I think are receptive to Him. That’s why Ewen Me are still talking years after other idiots have come and gone. You’re open to wisdom. They aren’t.

And this is true. So many people come and go. Relating his troubles into my life and story helps him to see that we are the same with the same challenges.

The thinking I have goes like this . . . “God, You touched me [saved me or whatever] directly so that means that You can do it to anyone anywhere that You want. You want me to be a [web developer, property developer, people motivator, lawn mowing contractor] or whatever, so I trust You to use me how you want.”

Again when mentoring and sharing for others, if we can help others see how we think it helps mould their thinking as they imbibe strength from ours. In a Christian sense this is faith-building. When we see that others truly do have faith, we can step out stronger ourselves, and of course the teaching is to do things because of Him and for Him not to gain something for ourselves.

Then I seek out people who I think are ready and willing to get the words of wisdom that pour from my pen. What God does with that is up to Him in my books. If He wants to have one person an hour or a day or a week wander by and engage, that’s up to Him.

Now this is an important thing for this guy – to find the good ones. We always tend to see people from our own perspective. If we have anger problems we will see everyone out to get us. If we are a thief, we will never trust others. If we’re a smoker we will identify more with other smokers than with the non-smokers. This is the same trouble my mate probably has here . . . he gives (probably to those in need) and unrealistically expects others to appreciate his giving. I am saying, “Get smarter” in a gentle way.

You know, it’s a funny thing but I’ve found that the less we do, the more He can!

A platitude I know but it may give him rise for thought!

I’d be choosing to enjoy myself as much as I can and engineer life so that I win no matter whether people take the help you’ve got or not. I’ll write you a Short Story about this relaxed real deep faith sometime shortly and publish it under Short Stories. It will be is called The Slow Bunny.

The first part of this paragraph is direct advice. He’ll have to deal with the how and why of it but I’ve ended my response with two recommendations – “enjoy yourself” i.e. lighten up (but don’t give up) – and [again] “get smarter” so that he achieves his needs/wants despite the other [fools] out there!

Hope you’ve enjoyed that little counselling session. Time to grab a beer!

The Solution

So I conclude now with the solution – humility.

The opposite of pride is humility.

Humility, unlike pride, is a choice. We are (since the Fall) proud by nature [it’s a theological thing – don’t go there unless you’ve got a decade to discuss it!], but we must choose humility consciously.

Humility is not a feeling. It is not genetic. It can be taught and shown and anybody, anywhere in the world at any place and time can choose to humble themselves. We know this because Christ asked it of us. He wouldn’t ask us to do something that we couldn’t! He showed it, and demonstrated His choice day after day right through His ministry to the deliberate choice to remain silent against His accusers and pay the price. He had the authority to blast the world into hell, the lot of them and us, but instead chose humility, and to give.

When we do choose to humble ourselves things change. In whatever area that we choose humility we instantly destroy that specific pride. With the pride unjustified (in a spiritual/legal sense) it has no basis to exist and vanishes. It doesn’t mean that we are instantly perfect but it does mean that there is no longer any authority for that pride and it will naturally fall away, often instantly.

Pair and fear likewise without a plinth upon which to exist must also fall away, thus the drivers to the anti-social, self-destructive and ungodly behaviours cease to exist thus behavioural change can then occur. This is a process, we call it sanctification (the process of becoming like Christ) and it is a lifetime process that never concludes in this world.

Upon choosing to humble ourselves we gain wisdom. Our life can change immediately (for the better) thus the world can become a better place.

If we invert the above description we can see that it is individuals who are “up themselves” who let fear and pain dictate their lives, thus create the problems that are all too obvious. A pretty yucky way of saying it, but the same message nonetheless.

The big one is always, “Who is Jesus Christ?” I have found that the only reason that an individual does not accept Christ is pride. I’ve described the solution to pride above.

Chin up and let’s get on with living eh? Hopefully you’re a little wiser . . . thanks for reading this one.

* The pain and fear I refer to here are not natural pain such as incurred when hitting your finger with a hammer or fear of heights or when attacked by a bear

I said:

Your dispute with Bartercard relates to multiple instances of misconduct on their part (according to you) which I have assessed and consider to each be credible and to be largely actionable in a legal sense, and certainly when they are combined they create the obvious picture that you have a legitimate dispute. That there may be two sides, sure, but this will require adjudication to settle in the absence of agreement with the Bartercard Beast. More on this shortly.

Additionally to circumstances specific to your situation you are in the same position as all other disenfranchised Bartercard Members or ex-Members in that the company’s claims that the Bartercard Trade Dollar equals the local currency (in your case the AUD) is clearly fraudulent. They also have a legal responsibility to protect that claim and their conduct has done the exact opposite as anyone who has followed my blogging will know!

Basically if you claim something and then legislate it in an agreement (such as that your currency MUST equal the current cash currency) and it doesn’t then you must devalue your currency or face claims/charges of fraud.

Your agreement to their Rules on first signing requires that you accept their declaration by fiat that their Bartercard Trade Dollar equates to one (in your case) AUD. This appears on the surface to be an enforceable position on the part of Bartercard however it can IMHO become an onerous or unenforceable agreement when the Fair Market Value of a Bartercard Trade Dollar is universally accepted as less than on par. Whether such an agreement can be enforced has never (to my knowledge) been fully proven one way or the other in court – yet.

It has in one case come before a judge who has said that he would have ruled on FMV being the reasonable valuation to use in a dispute but he never ruled for technical reasons. Obviously the Big Green Beast is unlikely to inform me if there were any others!

I have blogged about this specifically in regards to a Wellington case where a substantial claim by the Beast against an ex-Bartercard Member was withdrawn and settled out of court. This sadly denied me the exposure of a successful challenge to the legality of an onerous agreement, especially when the difference between the Trade Dollar at FMV and the local currency was viewed as a “penalty” – a legal term that is (in the Westminster jurisdictions) totally unenforceable.

Bugger eh? Still there’s always another day and another Bartercard victim!

When Bartercard claims, as they do in your case, that you owe them cash to the full value of your negative trade balance you may legitimately put before the court that you would be liable for only FMV, even if you did agree that the money was owing, which I know that you don’t.

We’ve talked about my attendance and assistance in your case and I confirm my willingness and availability to assist you in person or remotely as an expert witness, or what we call here in NZ a McKenzie Friend that can assist you through the court hearings. As long as my expenses are paid for as they are incurred, I would travel to the moon to see a case based on this subject fought out in court to a judgment. It would clarify the situation for all Bartercard members and ex-members through creating a legal precedent.

This lady may or may not push through to a hearing; she may settle, who knows but I’m also open to assisting others with expert commentary and advice.

Sadly I suspect that like all other dealings with the Beast, he knows when to back out and bow out and will likely settle or go abandon their claims against you.

In regards to your course of action from here in, may I suggest that you prepare for a long and drawn out legal stoush with Bartercard and be prepared to sue them yourself for any overpayment based on your verifiable FMV of the Trade Dollar. In that regard I may be able to help you and my blogging can also give you clues. If you had people in your trading circles who can provide evidence that FMV of the Trade Dollar was say 30c cash then you can calculate backwards from that to what debt you owed them at the time of account closure was to determine the correct repayment.

This case involved some payments that were made above what she calulated was rightfully due, but each case is different. The principle though is that trade deficits on closure are payable in trade (you can easily off gift vouchers if you want, after all that is all a Trade Dollar is, isn’t it? A promise to pay) then in cash after an agreed period. The question of valuation though is a key one and is quite legitimately contestable in court. Bartercard will not tell you that but ignore them and go to the judge with facts and your evidence. He won’t take the same approach as the BB, I can tell you!

In this FMV valuation exercise you will need to be realistic and to be prepared to produce evidence for use in court. It’s no good saying, “I believe that it is only worth xxx!” You will need to show the judge how you calculated the FMV (which will vary from place to place, from trader to trader and from time to time). Evidence produced in court will be assessed by the judge for its credibility and contested of course by your opponent.

This is a critical point that people tend to minimise. If you think you can stand up and argue justice and morality and fairness in court against an aggressive, litigious company like Bartercard without evidence – forget it. They know their stuff and have decades of developing systems to milk everyone, legally and otherwise. If you have evidence however, or lies, fraud, deception then the judge will listen to you FIRST and by default you will have an edge over all the scary legal stuff.

You will need to think the issues through from the other people’s perspectives before undertaking or inviting legal action as well as your own position. Is fighting the Beast worth the money? Maybe it isn’t. Is the exposure of your business and personal circumstances [and willingness to stand up for what you think is right] worth it? Maybe this is an opportunity, not a problem, for if it be known that you have the proverbial to take them on, even if you don’t win, then this is potential marketing material for you and perhaps a future source of goodwill, business and other opportunity. Personally I think that if I am on your team you cannot lose for I know these crooks and their ways like the back of my hand, but that is your call to make.

Fighting Bartercard is draining and frightening for most. They know it as do all larger businesses skilled in using the law. Flipping the scales and speaking to someone who has been there and done that can be hugely uplifting. I’ve never lost a case in courts for over 40 years of hitting back at crims, crooks & crazies, and Bartercard are draining but easy to beat – they’re so crooked, all you gotta do is tell your story the right way to the judge and the win is there for the taking!

Then you will need to look at things from the Beast’s perspective . . . they are a company driven by greed and an insatiable appetite for cash – real money. Understand that they use barter as a mechanism to secure real assets, particularly cash, at every turn. Ethics be damned. Human costs irrelevant. A court case of this nature with a ruling that goes against them would of their necessity and survival need to be appealed. Put simply, if word got out (and it surely would if I was involved) that any court in any jurisdiction had ruled that FMV was a legally accepted valuation of their currency (and note that it doesn’t matter whether this is 99c in the dollar or 1c in the dollar, it means ANY FMV valuation) then they are toast. Instantly all Bartercard Members could use the FMV valuation ruling for a myriad of purposes and their currency scam would be doomed. It would also have massive ripple effects throughout the world as this FMV is the industries second greatest fear, aside from regulation.

Again this is usually quite hard to do because emotions get in the way, and we get upset when we cross swords with people who do not play the game straight. Just focus on the job at hand, do the right thing and bring your evidence forward. If it’s right and true and fair, you’ll be fine!

The other thing is simply money. Understand that Bartercard will be assessing the fight in monetary terms, not with matters of justice or using the same ethics that you will. They will be asking themselves what they are likely to get from you financially and comparing that with what it will cost them to get that. Their legal fees are predominantly paid in funny money but I would estimate their costs to be assessed at $5,000.00 for a small claims case, and twenty times that or even much more for a sequence of claims/counterclaims and Appeal Court hearings lasting years if a ruling adverse to their interests was made.

Pragmatism.

My advice is to:

1. Establish whether or not you want to take the Beast on, with a good analysis of the pros & cons in view of the possibility of professional gain for yourself and potential cash savings from a win, and the possibility that the Beast fights back;
2. Establish what is important to you financially. You will need to assess the potential distraction from your core business, the potential of a refund of cash overpaid (or that you deem still payable);
3. Provide this report/analysis to Bartercard with your intended actions and then
4. Be prepared to negotiate on a settlement. In my experience Bartercard ALWAYS settles but usually only when they have to. This may be at an early stage if personalities are not involved and pragmatism rules with the person responsible for your case, but it can also be at a very late stage (even years), even at or during a trial if they think they have a chance of winning.

In regards to the last point understand that the costs awarded against them for proceeding with a case against you are usually negligible and are always factored into their decision-making.

This is not simply a Bartercard thing. Think about any larger company that is taking people to court on an ongoing basis. It’s not personal. It may be for you but it’s just their job after all. Same with the judge and the lawyers. When it comes to me, sure it’s highly personal because I am a threat and the crooks hate getting exposed all the time but that’s my choice. You don’t need to be like that in your case.

Next you will need to think about exposure and how you can either use this to your advantage or avoid it if that is your wish. I prefer to increase exposure and be like a child in a toy factory – push every button and pull any lever I can find until I understand what I am playing with and the gold falls from the tree (if it has any) but you may be different.

And again this is different for different people and situations. If you’re into marketing or sales and want to be out there seen as a winner – David vs Goliath sort of thing, go for it!! What could happen when you swat the big boy away with a good win? Do you know others who could do with your help? The sky is the limit and Bartercard are highly skilled at knocking the small guy around.

Lastly in terms of a settlement, understand the situation regarding monies already paid vs monies disputed and not paid. They say that possession is ninth tenths of the law. In your case the fact that you have [begrudgingly and under duress I know] paid the Beast something thus far will make it far harder to claw back that money than to defend and resist paying them any more. While you may be right morally and even legally sound, trying to get money out of Bartercard when they will be doing everything in their power to stop this, it will be 10x more difficult than retaining what is currently in your bank and preventing the Beast getting it from you. Understand that Bartercard’s decision-makers will be aware of this too and that it will be far easier to report back that they have “written off a debt as a bad one” rather than lost a court case and had to cough up the readies to you. Think human nature, professional politics, pride etc, etc.

This relates more to an overpayment situation but the principles remain true.

There was more that related to her specific case but this is the gold for all to enjoy!

Chin up!