So is this corruption? You be the judge.
Here’s a few recent developments on the Trust, Board and business activities of Mr Tamihere and associates.
Despite being under a Charities Services investigation for loans made by Waipareira Trust to Te Pati Māori (TPM), John Tamihere (CEO of Waipareira and president of TPM) has made another donation of $50,000 to TPM only weeks ago. What is the source of funds?
Questions have been asked about why Charities Services isn’t taking a tougher position against Waipareira and Tamihere. Interestingly, its three person Registration Board, which looks at its most difficult cases, is chaired by Gwendoline Keel, a lawyer who is also the general counsel for Waikato-Tainui and current Labour Party candidate for Port Waikato! Is every public service role in New Zealand now politicised?
The latest financial accounts for the Waipareira Trust show that WOCA provided Waipareira Trust with $16.8M of government commissioning funding for the financial year ending 30 June 2022 and that Waipareira Trust is charging an annual $6M management fee payable by WOCA. An eye-watering fee usually only seen in private equity businesses.
WOCA patrons include JT’s father-in-law, Sir Mason Durie and current TPM political candidate Merepeka Raukawa-Tait. WOCA receives government funding and then distributes it to different organisations around the North Island, including to the Waipareira Trust.
John Tamihere’s Waipareira Trust is taking $6M in annual management fees as part of his deal to provide Whanau Ora services. Tamihere and his wife are the Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officers of Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA) and Waipareira Trust respectively. WOCA is actually the trading name of Te Pou Matakana Limited which is owned by the Waipareira Trust and other Māori trusts.
John Tamihere is also the chief executive of the National Urban Māori Trust, which is a registered charitable trust. Its financial accounts note that its main source of funding is from the government. Its 2016 financial accounts record that “Close family members of key management personnel received remuneration and benefits of $236,694 (2015: $135,000)”. In 2017, the amount was $347,257.
So it begs the question … how much of this cash has flowed to creating positive outcomes for Maori?
As so far it appears to only be of benefit to Mr Tamihere, his funding of the Maori Party (TPM) and his failed Mayoral bid.
More to come on this …
