Review 23.1
1 February - 17 February, 1998

MO' MONEY, MO' PROBLEMS: What a curious man is David Ettridge, the Pauline Hanson front-man and National Director of One Nation who holds responsibility for the organisation's fund raising, infrastructure and expenditure.

Last year, the Review revealed that between 1993 and 1997 Mr Ettridge was involved in a secret tax-free offshore company Global Communications, located in a small shack on the Pacific Island of Vanuatu. During that period Ettridge was employed by World Vision as a paid consultant and the fees for his services were sent directly to the secret Vanuatu company. The Australian Tax Office is currently investigating Mr Ettridge's involvement with Global Communications and the Pacific Island shack which he alleged was the headquarters of a secret multinational marketing corporation. The year didn't end any better for Ettridge. Last December his organisation became mired in controversy after breakaway branches of One Nation alleged misallocation of One Nation funds and attempts by the party to obtain funds by deception. Police were called in to investigate party branches in South Australia, NSW and Queensland.

Now, an ongoing Review investigation into the financial affairs of One Nation has revealed that the National Director David Ettridge, was declared bankrupt in August 1992 with total declared assets of three dollars.

According to a Statement of Affairs filed on October 1 1992 with the Federal Court in NSW, Mr Ettridge claimed total liabilities of $130,000 and alleged that "my bankruptcy has been actioned by the Tax Dept's $28,500 which I cannot pay". The claim referred to Mr Ettridge's failure to meet a Taxation Office Bill for unpaid taxes plus interest of $28,283.74.

In May 1992, the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation, Robert Tomkins, petitioned the Bankruptcy division of the Federal Court for a sequestration order against the estate of Mr Ettridge. The Tax Office claimed that Ettridge had failed to pay more than $28,000 in unpaid taxes and interest. The tax commissioner had earlier obtained a default judgement against him in the District Court of NSW in April 1991 in respect to his unpaid taxes.

In the Statement of Affairs filed by Mr Ettridge in the Federal Court on Sept 6 1992, Ettridge claimed that his earnings for the past 12 months had been $10,200 and for the following year, 1993, he expected his gross income from all sources to be $15,000. In 1993 Ettridge became involved in Global Communications in Vanuatu where World Vision paid him some $150,000 during the three year period he acted as a fund raising consultant to them.

In Federal Court documents Mr Ettridge claimed that the last time he had lodged a tax return was 1990 and suggested that he had not paid tax that year. He listed his net pay as $242 per week and claimed that he was currently employed by his two daughters and lived at the registered office of their company where he boarded rent-free. "I occupy one room in the offices of my employer," claimed Ettridge in his Federal Court Statement of Financial Affairs. In 1993 Mr Ettridge paid out his debts and the Bankruptcy was subsequently annulled in February of that year.

The Manly company premises where Ettridge stated he was residing were those of US and Foreign Communications P/L, whose co-directors were Ettridge's daughters Deborah and Anne-Margaret. The Review has learned that the company was deregistered last April after the Australian Securities Commission took action to have it struck off for failing to lodge annual returns, in breach of the corporations legislation.

Asked to comment on almost two years of litigation and adverse judgements to retrieve his unpaid taxes, Mr Ettridge initially told the Review that the Federal Court documents were forgeries and that he had never been declared a bankrupt. " Well, I could manufacture, if you gave me a copy of that, I could manufacture the same document with your name and address on it," he said. When it was pointed out that the official documents were provided by the Federal Court, Mr Ettridge admitted that he had been declared bankrupt but had "then paid the amount owing and it was annulled. I was tardy in not dealing with the matter earlier. As far as I am concerned, it is as if it never happened".