JOHN TAMIHERE'S SHONKY FIEFDOM IN DANGER

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A reason for an astonishing comparison with Canada - and even Ozzie

Let's make the most of free speech while we still have it - before an Internal Affairs proposal for "regulating social media ... to safeguard New Zealanders" - with Maori of course, given a co-governing role - makes it into law in what now passes for a Parliament in this country. So here goes. 

John Tamihere. Such a poseur. Such a wide boy. Evidently an opportunist of the first water who knows how to parlay good looks and plausibility into what must be the plushiest set in Maoridom, surrounding himself with more Dames, Ladies and Knights of the realm than you could shake a stick at. 

He was born with the advantages of a staunchly Catholic mother, nine siblings (with two more later so spoilt youngest's not an excuse) and a Catholic education (St Mary's Avondale, St Peter's). One of those siblings is the unfortunately infamous David Tamihere, convicted of murdering Swedish tourists Urban Hoglin and Heidi Paakkonen in 1989. In June 2022 he had his appeal delayed for more than two years because the Crown is carrying out new DNA testing on crucial evidence.

After that little diversion it needs to be said - before Maori are awarded 'co-governance' on who gets to say what on social media - that John Tamihere would seem to prove that it's not what you know, it's who you know, that counts in Maoridom. 

And for the lowdown on today's Internal Affairs' proposal to pre-empt and preclude any real debate on Te Tiriti Waitangi (which has had its day) go to https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/132192663/internal-affairs-sets-out-big-plans-to-regulate-harmful-content-on-social-media.

But for the inside story on that, you need to get on the mailing list of Hobson's Pledge. For the inside story on Tamihere, here's Bassett Brash and Hide (two editions).

 

Ever since John Tamihere was humiliated in the 2019 Auckland mayoral race he has seemed determined to prove that Auckland voters were wise to reject him.

His stunts on behalf of the Maori Party keep downgrading the good work he started many years ago with the Waipareira Trust on behalf of de-tribalized Auckland Maori. He now looks determined to destroy public confidence in that trust and, as Thomas Cranmer has shown on this blog (Bassett Brash and Hide), turn it into some sort of fiefdom for his family and friends.

I doubt there is much confidence in the Maori Party of which Tamihere is now the chair, but there will be even less by the time he’s finished with it. “JT” which his fellow Roast-Busting radio clown Willie Jackson likes to call Tamihere, seems bent on destroying confidence in everything he is associated with.

Tamihere now struts about the place issuing grandiose demands to the Labour Party, where he was once a cabinet minister, that it should surrender the six Maori electorate seats which it holds in the current Parliament to the Maori Party. Instead it should concentrate on winning party votes from Maori in the seven Maori electorates. Tamihere says he believes that such a strategy would ensure victory for Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party in October.

But Tamihere doesn't have a smart look in regard to strategising, does he? A smart look in regard to white open-necked shirts, yes, but ... 

He hasn’t told us which seat he expects to stand for, but you can bet your life that he wants to grab one of them. His real worry is that his whole shonky personal fiefdom will crumble if it's subjected to careful scrutiny by a new government. His personal loans from taxpayer-funded Waipareira, his web of family connections, and money for the Maori Party could all be threatened.

In his view, what Chris Luxon has designated the “Coalition of Chaos” can save him. Which is all the more reason why Labour and the Greens must lose.

The push towards Maori tribalism that Labour never mentioned at the time of the 2020 election raced ahead under Jacinda Ardern, Nanaia Mahuta and Chris Hipkins.

Three Waters, He Puapua, Te Whatu Ora and co-governance, where the Maori aristocracy appoints people to boards rather than have them nominated by an organization answerable to Maori at elections, let alone be directly elected by Maori themselves, are just some of the decisions taken by the current Labour government as it moves away from the bedrock democratic principle of one person-one vote.

As a self-appointed member of that Maori aristocracy, Tamihere wants to ensure his personal fiefdom gets a favourable tick from the government when it finally comes under the microscope.

But will it ever come under the microscope? Isn't the legal profession in this country now seriously compromised by kowtowing to 'Te Tiriti' and its so-called principles?   

The worst part of all this is that Willie Jackson appears to agree with him. According to the Herald of 31 May, Jackson’s main worry is that now doesn’t seem to be the right time to hand over the Maori electorate seats. But, by inference, once the election is over, he’d be prepared to reconsider. Beware! We were caught last election with Labour saying one thing on the stump and doing something different afterwards.

In short, we can't trust Labour as far as we could kick 'em. And considering their aggregate avoirdupois - not the least being literally their propensity for lies, deceit and general dishonesty - that's no distance at all. 

The strange thing about all this is that ordinary Maori have been prepared over the years to trust the Labour Party to look after their interests. Money budgeted for them has always been expected to reach them for health, education or cultural purposes, for example. Times, however, have changed.

Who would have thought that the party of Micky Savage and Peter Fraser would eventually collapse into one willing to assist the Maori aristocracy to cream off money intended for the disadvantaged, lending it to themselves with no strings attached, and appointing their mates and relatives to boards, councils and trusts? Not appointed by those responsible to the wider public, but “placed” by the new Maori aristocracy.

Ordinary folk are now starting to confront the reality that Labour no longer stands for them. Rather, “their” party is in the grip of those who are already privileged.

Thomas Cranmer’s article should be closely studied by every candidate for Parliament in October. It contains some useful information about John Tamihere, with warnings about how not to conduct oneself when one works for a registered charity in receipt of taxpayer funds.

To make it really easy for you, Thomas Cranmer's article follows (below).

 

Wide boy Tamihere strategising with Michelle Boag and Matt McCarten during Auckland's mayoral race.
Odd bedfellows ... 

 

The Charities Services decision to require the Waipareira Trust to claw back $385,000 of interest-free loans from John Tamihere brings renewed attention to the links between Whānau Ora and the Trust.

Revelations earlier this month in the Herald that the social services charity Waipareira Trust had agreed with Charities Services to cease making political donations and take steps to claw back $385,000 of interest-free loans made to its chief executive, John Tamihere, has put the controversial politician and media commentator back in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

It’s not the first time that a financial scandal has hit the trust or Tamihere. In October 2004, the then Labour Party MP was accused of dishonest financial dealings, including in relation to a $195,000 golden goodbye from the Waipareira Trust that he accepted when he was elected to Parliament in 1999.

As political pressure increased on Prime Minister Helen Clark, Tamihere resigned his ministerial portfolios. An inquiry was held into whether tax had been paid on the payment and other matters relating to the trust. At the time, ACT MP Rodney Hide wanted the inquiry into Tamihere to also cover a housing loan that he had received from the trust in 1991. Tamihere was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to those matters.

In the early 2000s the Waipareira Trust and a property developer, West Harbour Holdings, entered into a joint venture to build a 20-storey hotel at Gulf Harbour. It involved a $500,000 loan, made in 2008, which enabled Tamihere to buy a $1.36 million home on the Te Atatu Peninsula. The funds were raised after the Waipareira Trust released a mortgage that it held over a townhouse which was then sold and the proceeds loaned to Tamihere.

The dispute ended up in Court after West Harbour Holdings went into liquidation. Justice Andrews stated, “There is no documentation recording the loan to Mr Tamihere. I am satisfied that, just as there is a dispute as to who made the loan, and at what amount, there is a dispute as to what interest, if any, is payable. That dispute can only be resolved on the evidence, at trial.”

At one point, financial forecasts from Waterstone Insolvency indicated that the Waipareira Trust faced an expected shortfall of $2.2 million on its $4.6 million claim relating to the failed property development company.

Since then the Waipareira Trust has grown significantly and become a key service provider for Whānau Ora.

Whānau Ora was created in 2010 under the oversight of Dame Tariana Turia, who was tasked with developing the new model and working with other ministers to implement a cross-governmental approach. In essence, Whānau Ora is described as a Māori approach to delivering social and health services to whānau, created to address systemic inequities that have resulted in poorer outcomes for Māori.

We get the 'poorer outcomes' bit: they're horribly obvious. But just what are the 'systemic inequities' that are supposed to cause the 'poorer outcomes?   

In 2014 the approach evolved with the establishment of Whānau Ora commissioning agencies that would invest directly in their communities. The intention was that the creation of these agencies would help to ensure funding decisions were made closer to the communities they serve.

Whānau Ora commissioning agencies are contracted to fund and support initiatives that deliver Whānau Ora outcomes.  They act as brokers in matching the needs and aspirations of whānau with funding and support that will help them achieve their aspirations.

There are only three Whānau Ora commissioning agencies in the country. The North Island is covered by Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency. The South Island is covered by Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu. And Pasifika families across New Zealand are covered by Pasifika Futures.

For the North Island, the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency is actually the trading name of a company called Te Pou Matakana Limited. The Patrons of that entity include Dame Tariana Turia, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait and John Tamihere’s father-in-law, Sir Mason Durie. The chief executive is John Tamihere and the chief operating officer is his wife, Awerangi Tamihere.

According to information from the Companies Office, the company is owned 88% by the National Urban Māori Authority (NUMA), 9% by the Waipareira Trust and 3% by the Manukau Urban Māori Authority (MUMA).

In relation to NUMA, the chief executive is John Tamihere and the chairperson is Lady Tureiti Moxon. It’s website describes itself as, “a proactive collective influencing and advancing Māori economic and social development. NUMA’s primary goal is to advocate, promote and develop Māori achievement through strengthening and sustaining whānau success through a dedinnovative solutions.”

In relation to the Waipareira Trust, the chief executive is again John Tamihere and the chief operating officer is his wife, Awerangi Tamihere - mirroring their roles with the commissioning agency. Indeed, transactions between the commissioning agency and the trust are considered to be related party transactions for the purposes of the trust’s financial accounts.

Finally, in relation to MUMA, the chief executive is Tania Rangiheuea, the wife of the current Minister for Broadcasting, Willie Jackson. Set up over 30 years ago, MUMA describes itself as one of a founding group of pan-tribal organisations across New Zealand that set out to foster the economic, social and community development of Māori living in the cities. The first chief executive was Dame June Temuranga Jackson, and in 2009, Willie succeeded his mother as chief executive until he entered Parliament in 2017.

 Amongst other things, MUMA and the Waipareira Trust each own 50% of UMA Broadcasting Limited which holds and operates the radio licenses for Radio Waatea and George FM.

The Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, NUMA and the Waipareira Trust are all located at the same Henderson commercial address and share administrative and back office support.

Undoubtedly it is a tight-knit group of individuals. Indeed, Tamihere’s father-in-law Sir Mason Durie was tapped to lead the steering group that made recommendations for the ministerial appointment of board members for the Māori Health Authority Board. In September 2021, Ministers Little and Henare made a joint announcement confirming the board members.

The Board, co-chaired by Tipa Mahuta, included NUMA Chair Lady Tureiti Moxon and Tamihere’s wife, Awerangi Tamihere of the Waipareira Trust. A NUMA press release confirmed, “Both Moxon and Tamihere were appointed alongside 7 others to the Board of the Māori Health Authority on the recommendation of Tā Mason Durie’s steering group that identified the best possible candidates.”

And under the current Labour government, the Waipareira Trust has had a golden run. In its accounts for the year ended 30 June 2016, the trust had revenue from services of $21,891,765, and had cash or term deposits of $6,950,998.

In its most recent accounts for the year ended 30 June 2022, the trust had revenue from services of $69,544,616, and had cash or term deposits of $50,379,806.

Over that six year period, administrative costs have ballooned from $2,138,592 to $5,919,525. And although senior management headcount has only increased from 14 to 15.25, remuneration and benefits for senior management have increased from $2,013,194 to $4,390,413.

For the financial year ended 30 June 2022, transactions from Te Pou Matakana Limited (trading as the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency) to the Waipareira Trust totalled $40,457,839.

Hauraki believed in him

 

That amount is included as a related party transaction in the trust’s latest accounts and is made up of the following line items:

• Whānau Ora commissioning funding - $16,873,845

• Annual management fees - $6,000,000

• Covid-19 funding - $10,444,000

• Research and evaluation funding - $2,000,000

• IT licenses and support - $3,681,529

• Lease expenses - $154,455

• Operating funding - $1,304,010

The management fee alone is an eye-watering amount and seems difficult to justify in the context of the services that the commissioning agency is seeking to fund.

Immediately after this year’s Budget, Minister for Whānau Ora, Peeni Henare issued a press release in which he stated, “Budget 2023 reflects the critical importance of Whānau Ora.”

“Whānau Ora navigators are our connectors to our whānau. They are often the first to recognise the needs for whānau and helping them to achieve their aspirations.

Needs for all whanau, or wants for Tamihere's friends and relations?  

“The job they do is so important, we are committing to their future with an additional $168.1 million over four years.”

“This Government has always recognised this and that is why we have increased funding by 145 percent since 2017,” Peeni Henare said.

Despite the well-scripted press releases and slick advertising campaigns, many Māori believe that not enough funding from Whānau Ora is making its way to those in need. Their concerns seem to be justified.

 

St Justin, Martyr, on your feast day please pray for us