TE PATI MAORI ELECTION CAMPAIGN ALLEGEDLY CORRUPT

To comment please open your gmail account or use my email address, FB Messenger or X (Twitter).

One might call the imaginary country where Te Pati Maori and John Tamihere want to be a law unto themselves a banana republic. But one can't think of a Maori product which could possibly support its economy. Waka, perhaps? Which would at least have the advantage of providing a get-away for disenchanted citizenry.

If you were wondering how on earth a crowd like Te Pati Maori got to triple the size of its caucus last election, John Tamihere and his Waipareira Trust, a South Auckland marae - and Banjo Paterson - could explain, with help likely forthcoming one hopes, from the Serious Fraud Office.

Study the video of Jack Tame's interview on election night with the amazingly-elected new MP for Te Tai Tokarau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. Take in the shifty smirks of her supporters, including Te Pati's co-leader Rawiri Waititi. They speak of collusion. Illegal collusion. 

https://x.com/i/status/1797817191250948539

 

Brian Tamaki

@BrianTamakiNZ

BREAKING NEWS More Whistleblowers from Manurewa Marae Speak Up! The whole of JT’s Māori economy is about to crumble down. It’s a House of Cards, with Manurewa Marae as the catalyst to cause it all to fall. Additional whistle-blowers have now spoken with me. Read the full details here: https://briantamaki.com/single-post/more-whistleblowers-from-manurewa-marae-speak-up…

@dbseymour

@winstonpeters

@chrisluxonmp

@Maori_Party

@1NewsNZ

@NewshubNZ

@NZStuff

@NZStuffPolitics

@nzherald

 

Illegal and corrupt practices are alleged to have occurred in the way that Te Pati Maori has been running election campaigns, abusing their use of state-funded processes. Allegations revealed Saturday about the way the party colluded with a South Auckland marae and John Tamihere’s Waipareira Trust are being looked into by various government agencies, but now require a larger investigation, possibly by the Serious Fraud Office or Office of the Auditor-General.

 

Māori in Auckland received text messages from the shortcode 2661 urging them to vote early.

 

There have long been serious allegations about the relationship between Te Pati Maori’s president, John Tamihere’s Waipareira Trust charity, and politics. More recently, this has extended to how the South Auckland Manurewa Marae has allegedly helped the party in elections by giving inducements to voters to help the candidate, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, win the seat of Tamaki Makaurau.

 

Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp pictured at Manurewa Marae during the pandemic vaccination drive.

Same woman. Scrubs up well. Imitation (of Party boss Rawiri Waititi) is the sincerest form of flattery

 

Part of the problem is that Kemp was both the party’s candidate in the election and also the Chief Executive of the Manurewa Marae, which various government agencies contracted to deliver services, including as a site for voting in the general election.

The latest allegations arereported in today’s Sunday Star-Times by Andrea Vance, who says that staff employed by Manurewa Marae to help with the government census combined that activity with the campaign to get Te Pati Maori’s candidate elected. This included using the private information collected in the census to help the party campaign. The article is a must-read: Stats NZ investigating potential misuse of Maori census data

Here’s the key list of allegations in Vance’s article:

• “Hundreds of census forms collected by marae staff were photocopied and retained; and data from the forms such as personal contact details, household occupancy and birth dates was entered into an online database and sent to the Waiparera Trust. Te Pati Maori president John Tamihere runs the social services charity and is chief executive of Whanau Ora, and denies this.
• They believe that information was then used to target Maori electorate voters in the Tamaki Makaurau electorate.
• They also allege that Marae staff who delivered census forms also included enrolment forms for voters to change from the general to the Maori roll.
• Participants were given $100 supermarket vouchers, wellness packs or food parcels to induce them to complete the forms.
• Visitors to the marae last year were also given $100 supermarket vouchers when they completed the forms to switch rolls.
• Attempts were made to alert Stats NZ and MSD, but neither agency acted.”

These allegations have come from former Marae staff, who appear to be taking legal action against their former employer based on employment law. One has also contacted the Ministry of Social Development as a whistleblower. As a result, MSD, Statistics NZ and the Police are now investigating.

John Tamihere, an election candidate for Te Pati Maori at the last election, continues to be the party’s president and is CEO of Wairapareia Trust, is denying the allegations. He says the former employees are motivated by their employment gripes.

He also explained that the Marae chose to try to get Maori voters to switch from the general role to the Maori role of Tamaki Makaurau while canvassing for the government census. He is quoted: “It would be pretty stupid not to put both together, wouldn’t it? Well, that’s what occurred… Our civic duty to our people is to alert them to both.”

In terms of allegations that the Marae was giving out inducements, such as food and vouchers, to voters, Tamihere is reported today as giving a cultural justification: “When we do relationships with our people and they come to our maraes, we either provide kai or kai manaaki packaging. You call it an inducement, we call it maanaaki.” He told Andrea Vance, “You practise your culture, our marae will and must provide our culture.” He also said he wouldn’t allow MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp to be interviewed about any of the allegations.

 

Labour list MP Willie Jackson with Tamihere, speaking volumes 

 

Allegations in February about the Manurewa Marae helping Te Pati Maori

Takutai Tarsh Kemp is now the MP for Tamaki Makaurau, having beaten Labour’s Peeni Henare by only 42 votes. Part of her successful campaign was won at the Manurewa Marae, which the Electoral Commission used as a voting booth. Controversially, this occurred while the candidate was also the Chief Executive of the Marae.

Journalist Andrea Vance also investigated this in February, reporting on how the Marae allegedly helped their CE and Te Pati Maori win extra votes through unethical and potentially illegal voter inducements – see her article from then: Deleted social media posts raise further questions about ‘treating’ at a marae polling booth (paywalled)

Here’s the critical part: “the Sunday Star-Times can reveal that during the period where advance votes could be cast, the marae’s social media accounts promoted a ticketing system where voters could collect free hangi, doughnuts, hot chocolate and coffee on providing proof of voting. The first 300 voters on a given day would get freebies. The account also posted a live video which included footage of Kemp’s campaign vehicle, branded with Te Pati Maori livery, and invited people to vote at the marae where an event that day would include free food. Documents, released after an Official Information Act request, reveal the commission was first made aware of the videos in the fortnight before election day on October 14, but they remained up for the duration of voting.”

Tamihere responded to the reports, calling them “fake news”. But details in the story raise serious issues of potential electoral fraud that call into question the validity and fairness of how Te Pati Maori won the electorate and party votes in general.

The Labour, National, and Vision NZ parties subsequently made complaints to the Electoral Commission, but after an investigation, the Commission decided not to refer the matter to the Police.

John Tamihere’s Waipareira Trust political finance connections to Te Pati Maori

John Tamihere is central to Te Pati Maori, including as the party president. He’s also been a major financial backer of the party in recent years as the Chief Executive of the Waipareira Trust charity, which contracts to provide government services in South Auckland.

There are ongoing concerns about how much the two organisations overlap and, therefore, to what extent the charity is another wing of Te Pati Maori, albeit funded by the state.

Tamihere has fought, in a long-running saga with the government regulator of charities, Charities Services, over the legality of donations made by the Waipareira Trut to various election campaigns he has run. 

The focus has been, in particular, on large financial donations to his 2019 Auckland  Mayoral campaign and Te Pati Maori's 2020 election campaign.

https://democracyproject.substack.com/p/te-pati-maoris-integrity-under-scrutiny

 

 

John Tamihere's Waipareira Trust appropriated cellphone numbers used in the COVID vaccination drive

More developments on the Manurewa Marae scandal - new allegations suggest that cellphone numbers, used as part of the COVID vaccination drive, were appropriated by the Waipareira Trust and used to send text messages to Maori voters during the election, urging them to vote for the Maori Party. Manurewa Marae was at the centre of the vaccine rollout. It was in bed with the Ministry of Health. The cellphone numbers were meant to be used to prompt people to come and get vaccinated. But it seems that John Tamihere and crew nicked them and used them for electioneering on behalf of the Maori Party. Labour lodged a complaint with the electoral commission over the text messages in November. This is obviously corrupt, and violates privacy laws. We need an investigation of Tamihere and his myriad roles and organisations, but also the government departments that are doing business with him. Defund the Maori Grievance Complex!

https://www.thepress.co.nz/politics/350299612/complaint-alleged-te-pati-maori-misused-info-collected-covid-vaccination-drive

And before you go, to make you smile, The Maori's Wool from Australia's bush poet Banjo Paterson, who visited NZ back in 1900: 

The Maoris are a mighty race -- the finest ever known; Before the missionaries came they worshipped wood and stone; They went to war and fought like fiends, and when the war was done They pacified their conquered foes by eating every one. But now-a-days about the pahs in idleness they lurk, Prepared to smoke or drink or talk -- or anything but work. The richest tribe in all the North in sheep and horse and cow, Were those who led their simple lives at Rooti-iti-au. 'Twas down to town at Wellington a noble Maori came, A Rangatira of the best, Rerenga was his name -- (The word Rerenga means a "snag" -- but until he was gone This didn't strike the folk he met -- it struck them later on). He stalked into the Bank they call the "Great Financial Hell", And told the Chief Financial Fiend the tribe had wool to sell. The Bold Bank Manager looked grave -- the price of wool was high. He said, "We'll lend you what you need -- we're not disposed to buy. "You ship the wool to England, Chief! -- You'll find it's good advice, And meanwhile you can draw from us the local market price." The Chief he thanked them courteously and said he wished to state In all the Rooti-iti tribe his mana would be great, But still the tribe were simple folk, and did not understand This strange finance that gave them cash without the wool in hand. So off he started home again, with trouble on his brow, To lay the case before the tribe at Rooti-iti-au. They held a great korero in the Rooti-iti clan, With speeches lasting half a day from every leading man. They called themselves poetic names -- "lost children in a wood"; They said the Great Bank Manager was Kapai -- extra good! And so they sent Rerenga down, full-powered and well-equipped, To draw as much as he could get, and let the wool be shipped; And wedged into a "Cargo Tank", full up from stern to bow, A mighty clip of wool went Home from Rooti-iti-au. It was the Bold Bank Manager who drew a heavy cheque; Rerenga cashed it thoughtfully, then clasped him round the neck; A hug from him was not at all a thing you'd call a lark -- You see he lived on mutton-birds and dried remains of shark -- But still it showed his gratitude; and, as he pouched the pelf, "I'll haka for you, sir," he said, "in honour of yourself!" The haka is a striking dance -- the sort they don't allow In any place more civilized than Rooti-iti-au. He "haka'd" most effectively -- then, with an airy grace, Rubbed noses with the Manager, and vanished into space. But when the wool return came back, ah me, what sighs and groans! For every bale of Maori wool was loaded up with stones! Yes -- thumping great New Zealand rocks among the wool they found; On every rock the bank had lent just eighteen-pence a pound. And now the Bold Bank Manager, with trouble on his brow, Is searching vainly for the chief from Rooti-iti-au.

 

Let us trust in Him who has placed this burden upon us. What we ourselves cannot bear let us bear with the help of Christ. For He is all-powerful, and He tells us: 'My yoke is easy, and my burden light.'

Saint Boniface