The Sant Raj Rai Case: a Major Setback for the Crown Has Serious Implications

In 2004, for the first time in an appeal involving pensions, the High Court ruled in favor of an appellant.

WINZ had attempted to deduct the government pension of Fijian immigrant Mr Sant Raj Rai. The Court ruled in his favor on the basis that his pension was a civil service pension and not government-funded. For the first time in a Court of Law, the MSD chief executive was found to be wrong in his determination of overseas pensions subject to direct deduction.

When the decision went against the chief executive, undermining his hitherto unquestioned authority, the Ministry marshaled all its forces to appeal the decision.

What business did the Ministry have in going to the High Court to appeal a case involving a single, minor pension?

The Court records for the Sant Raj Rai Case, and subsequent appeal, reveal that the chief executive took particular exception to the wording in the ruling that the Fijian pension was "not government-funded". From the records, it appears that the chief executive was not asking, but insisting that the judge change the wording. The Court dismissed his appeal.

Why was the chief executive so concerned over the wording that the Fijian pension was "not government-funded", and why was he so anxious for the judge to change the wording? The answer is very simple.

For decades, under the direction and authority of the chief executive, MSD/WINZ has been appropriating billions of dollars in overseas pensions from elderly people. The majority of those pensions have not been government-funded.

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