s44. Any person who:
(i)is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power; or
(ii) is attainted of treason, or has been convicted and is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for any offence punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State by imprisonment for one year or longer; or
(iii) is an undischarged bankrupt or insolvent; or
holds any office of profit under the Crown, or any pension payable during the pleasure of the Crown out of any of the revenues of the Commonwealth: or
(iv) has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company consisting of more than twenty-five persons;
shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.
s45. If a senator or member of the House of Representatives:
1. becomes subject to any of the disabilities mentioned in the last preceding section; or
2. takes the benefit, whether by assignment, composition, or otherwise, of any law relating to bankrupt or insolvent debtors; or
3. directly or indirectly takes or agrees to take any fee or honorarium for services rendered to the Commonwealth, or for services rendered in the Parliament to any person or State;
his place shall thereupon become vacant.
Make no mistake, the following represents the insolvent liquidation of companies owned by Family First Senator Bob Day and family (with Bob Day as sole director) and foreshadows personal insolvency. There are 207 houses still under construction and building work halted, an unspecified number of employees having no guarantee of full payment of wages/superannuation/holiday pay owed and, an unknown number of business creditors who will presumably meet with the liquidator in November 2016.
The
Australian,
18 October 2016:
Senator Day said Home
Australia and its subsidiaries in South Australia. Western Australia, Victoria
and New South Wales would be liquidated by McGrathNicol.
“As I have always agreed
to sign personal guarantees to creditors, this closure also has serious
implications for me and my family,” he said.
“Creditor liabilities
greatly exceed our assets so we will also lose our family home.
“As for my role as a
Senator, I will of course resign.”
Smart Company, 18 October 2016:
Matthew Caddy and Barry Kogan of McGrathNicol have been appointed as liquidators of parent company Home Australia Pty Ltd, as well as seven wholly owned subsidiaries: Homestead Homes Pty Ltd, Collier Homes Pty Ltd, Newstart Homes (SE QLD) Pty Ltd, Ashford Homes Pty Ltd, Huxley Homes Pty Ltd, Nationwide Australian Investments Pty Ltd, and Smart Road Property Rentals Pty Ltd.
Construction on all homes being built by Home Australia has ceased and the liquidators said in a statement on Monday their “immediate objective is to work constructively with relevant insurers and customers in an effort to facilitate the orderly recommencement of construction of uncompleted homes by alternative builders”.
McGrathNicol is also accepting expressions of interest from potential buyers for the entire Home Australia business or individual parts.
The
Guardian, 27
October 2016:
Family First senator Bob
Day’s collapsed house building empire owes a total of $37.8m, according to
their liquidator.
A spokesman for
liquidator McGrath Nichol told Guardian Australia on Thursday that the seven
companies owe unsecured creditors a total of $19.6m.
The figure dwarfs
initial estimates that unsecured creditors were owed $12.5m.
The companies owe a
total of $18.2m in secured debt, of which National Australia Bank is owed
$17.5m. Those debts will take priority over the unsecured creditors.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) 26 October 2016:
Name:
|
HUXLEY HOMES PTY LTD
|
ACN:
|
106 443 216
|
ABN:
| |
Registration date:
|
24/09/2003
|
Next review date:
|
24/09/2017
|
Status:
|
External Administration
|
Type:
|
Australian Proprietary Company, Limited By Shares
|
Locality of registered office:
|
TEA TREE GULLY SA 5091
|
Regulator:
|
Australian Securities & Investments Commission
|
17/10/2016
|
7E8438321
|
Notification of Appointment of Liquidator (Creditors' (505J)
Voluntary Winding Up)
|
Unfortunately for parliamentary democracy, Senator Day appears to have now rethought his statement of 17 October that he was resigning from the Senate and now intends to stay indefinitely as his announcement was apparently only one of future intent.
Wellington Times, 24 October 2016:
……Senator Day issued a short statement.
"I refer Fairfax to my statement last Monday expressing an intention to resign as a result of my family company's problems," he said.
One Adelaide-based expert in receivership and company administration said it was unlikely Senator Day's companies could be wound up quickly and suggested a possible bankruptcy was at least six months away.
Parliament will return on November 7 for three final sitting weeks of the year, with the Senate expected to vote on the two bills used for trigger the July 2 double dissolution election.
Senator Day's vote will be crucial as the government seeks nine out of 11 crossbenchers to support the legislation. If he is not present for the votes, he would seek a pair with Labor.
UPDATE
ABC News, 1 November 2016, 12:37pm:
Family First senator Bob
Day has tendered his resignation, effective immediately.
Pressure had been
mounting on the now-former senator to resign as his construction company
crumbled.
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