Are we a Menace to Society?
There are numerous exploitative activities that laws are there to protect us from. Because sometimes you just can’t patch stupid. Some laws result in a penalty of a slapped wrist and a pocket change fine. Others lead to years in jail.
The DIA (Dept of Internal Affairs) have recently scored a success against a major menace to society, “Herbal King”.
The people at Herbal King ran a large network marketing company, using internet and email as their main communications mechanism. Sales commission for the two New Zealanders at the top of the tree alone was $2m USD over a four month period. So that’s upwards of $12m NZD a year for sending a bunch of emails – nice work if you can get it.
Only this is spam – so it’s illegal.
Their punishment, a $100k fine ($200k being the max). Plus an enforcement order saying, “I’ve been a naughty boy and I promise not to do it again”.
Whoopy Do. 
If you were vaguely involved and didn’t help the officers holding a search warrant when they came knocking, you could have be fined $2,000 and gone to jail for 3 months. Not that you needed to have been earning any of the commission, just that you knew these people were doing something illegal and you didn’t help those investigating when they asked for your co-operation.
So how does this compare with giving free informal advice to someone who is thinking about emigration to NZ?
A $100k fine or up to seven years in jail.
For earning no money, only talking with one person and not involving anyone else in your “conspiracy”.
In true University style:
Discuss, compare and contrast what this teaches us when breaking the law in New Zealand and it’s various penalties. Make specific reference to picking something which impacts a huge number of people, you can make lots of money from, has a minimal civil or criminal penalty, and is really difficult to prove or enforce.
Also consider the economic impact of convincing someone to spend $100 dollars on your herbal product, compared with the economic impact ($100k on top of GDP) for convincing someone that moving to NZ is a really good idea.
For extra credit, consider how much money someone can make selling pills, with how much money someone makes when providing free advice. And discuss how much jail time is appropriate in either case.
For further extra credit discuss why Mr Cunliffe’s response (below) demonstrates the politicians don’t live on ‘palnet (sic) electorate’, and consider why MP’s should be exempt from this law if it is there to prevent so much damage or exploitation being done.
7 December 2005 Subject Social Issues
10978 (2005). Dr Pita Sharples to the Minister of Immigration (07 Dec 2005): What is the justification for the provision in the Immigration Advisors Licensing Bill to sentence non-licensed immigration advisors to seven years maximum imprisonment?
Hon David Cunliffe (Minister of Immigration) replied: The seven years maximum imprisonment is consistent with the Immigration Act 1987, which provides for terms of imprisonment of up to seven years for comparable offences. The penalty is in place to deter people from attempting to earn a potentially significant income by providing immigration advice without a licence, and recognises the potentially serious consequences for victims of incompetent or unethical immigration advice.
Related posts:
- Former Head of INZ gets a measly $10,000 fine.
- The Immigration Advisers Licensing Act
- NZ Herald article
Comments
One Comment on Are we a Menace to Society?
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admin on
Tue, 1st Dec 2009 7:10 pm
Today – the US Government actually fined one of these brothers the equivalent of $21 million NZ Dollars 
Now THATS a slapped wrist
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