Summarised by Centrist
Journalist Graham Adams outlines the challenges facing John Tamihere and his Waipareira Trust, from investigations into alleged data misuse to the threat of deregistration over political donations.
Adams suggests that the government’s sudden decision to retender Whānau Ora funding, which threatens to clip Tamihere’s wings, may be driven by these scandals.
He argues that “the public’s focus has now fallen squarely on the generous amounts of taxpayers’ money dispensed and how they have been spent, or hoarded.”
He describes a lack of detailed accountability for how funding is tracked. “Te Puni Kōkiri [the Ministry of Māori Development] contracts three commissioning agencies throughout New Zealand — and pays them tens of millions — to achieve ‘outcomes’ rather than being required to provide ’specific services or outputs’,” he writes.
Adams cites official reports describing the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA) and the Waipareira Trust, which it funds as “indivisible.”
The Waipareira Trust’s net assets total nearly $104 million, more than doubling over the past four years. This is alongside annual surpluses exceeding $20m.
Both entities are led by Tamihere with his wife, Awerangi Tamihere, as Chief Operating Officer for both organisations.
Graham notes: “By all accounts, it would be difficult to manoeuvre a cigarette paper between them.”
Both organisations are closely tied to Te Pāti Māori, with Tamihere serving as its president.
Political commentator Haimona Gray described the Waipareira Trust as “Te Pāti Māori’s largest single donor.”
