Grifter

 

Professional grifter, John Tamihere

"As the Party President of Te Pāti Māori and the Chief executive of Te Whānau o Waipareira, the revelations that [the taxpayer-funded] Waipareira has given [John] Tamihere interest-free loans to fund political campaigns should have Māori questioning if this is a party and people they can support. This seemingly misappropriation of money seems to have gone largely unreported by MSM ... But reports are that Waipareira will 'try' to claw back $385,000 from their Chief executive at the suggestion of Charity Services. At this point it needs to be noted that Tamihere’s wife Awerangi is the Chief Operating Officer of Waipareira, so it’s unlikely we will see her demand her husband pay back these loans anytime soon."

~ Corina Shields, from her post 'The need for hard conversations'

Another highly-paid beneficiary

John Tamihere shares a joke at taxpayers' expense

"The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses. It is about the egos of the elites." 

~ Thomas Sowell, from his column 'Human Livestock'

"[John Tamihere's] 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 ... In essence, Whānau Ora is described as a Māori approach to delivering social and health services to whānau ... commissioning agencies that would invest [sic] directly in their communities....
    "There are only three Whānau Ora commissioning agencies in the country.... 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....
    "The Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, NUMA [John Tamihere's so-called National Urban Māori Authority] and the Waipareira Trust are all located at the same Henderson commercial address and share administrative and back office support....
    "[U]nder the current Labour government, the Waipareira Trust has had a golden run.... In its most recent accounts for the year ended 30 June 2022, the trust had revenue from services [i.e., money doled out from government] of $69,544,616, and had cash or term deposits of $50,379,806.... Over [the last] six year period ... remuneration and benefits for senior management have increased from $2,013,194 to $4,390,413 ... [and] annual management fees [to] $6,000,000...
    "The management fee alone is an eye-watering amount and seems difficult to justify ...
    "[M]any Māori believe that not enough funding from Whānau Ora is making its way to those in need. Their concerns seem to be justified."

~ Thomas Cranmer, from his post 'John Tamihere and the Waipareira Trust'

NB: WHAT WE SAID IN 2010:

"If stimulus and bailouts are welfare for bankers-who’ve-failed, and Kiwisaver is welfare for suits-with-nothing-in-them, then surely the new politically-correct Whānau Ora scheme is just welfare for 'welfare providers,' isn’t it? Welfare that is primarily to keep the likes of John Tamihere and Rongo Wetere in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed. Welfare for a Browntable of well-heeled ambulance chasers. Welfare that will end up costing us all more in the long run than the current welfare bill."

'Welfare for Everyone' - NOT PC, April, 2010

AND WHAT WE SAID IN 2015:

"[W]hat Whanau Ora is, as I said when it was announced, is simply welfare for separatist welfare providers.
    "In short, a scam.
    "That much is fairly clear even from the Auditor General’s findings on funding, to whit: 'During the first four years, total spending on Whānau Ora was $137.6 million…. Nearly a third of the total spending was on administration…' 
    "You see? A very well-paying scam … if you’re inside that tent clipping the ticket.
    "What Whanau Ora is primarily, is welfare for separatist welfare providers....
    "So what has the scam achieved?
    "It has achieved a great deal indeed … for all those inside the tent.
    "What it achieved for the Maori Party was to buy them the backing of welfare providers – and as you can see I mean 'buy' in the very literal sense. Sure, it’s been hard to keep the backers inside the tent as bigger game seemed to appear elsewhere, but for a while at least it bought support for the new party.
    "And what it achieved for the Key Government was to buy the backing of the Maori Party – 'buy' here being used in the very political sense of buying the Maori Party’s votes, with which it was able to stay in power.
    "So quite a great deal indeed was achieved, if you’re one of the ones in power."

'The Whānau Ora Scam' - NOT PC, May 2015

 

The Whanau Ora scam

The Auditor General has cast his eye over Whanau Ora and declared,

It was not easy to describe what it is or what it has achieved.
    We could not get a consistent explanation of the aims of the initiatives in Whānau Ora from the joint agencies or other people that we spoke to. So far, the situation has been unclear and confusing to many of the public entities and whānau.

The aim with any good scam is to make it unclear and confusing, so no surprises there.

What is surprising is that Auditor General appears so surprised to stumble across a scam so successfully pulled off out in the open that, like the Purloined Letter, he can’t fully see it for what it is. 

Because what Whanau Ora is, as I said when it was announced, is simply welfare for separatist welfare providers.

In short, a scam.

That much is fairly clear even from the Auditor General’s findings on funding, to whit:

During the first four years, total spending on Whānau Ora was $137.6 million…. Nearly a third of the total spending was on administration…

You see? A very well-paying scam …  if you’re inside that tent clipping the ticket.

What Whanau Ora is is primarily welfare for separatist welfare providers – for the likes of Welfare of John Tamihere and Rongo Wetere to keep them in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed – for a Browntable of well-heeled ambulance chasers – for plane-loads of bone-carving wearers heading down to Wellington to pick up their cheques -- with the poor saps these soaks supposedly represent right at the end of the line for getting helped.

Because the poor saps being kept poor are just an excuse for the scam to carry on.

So what has the scam achieved?

It has achieved a great deal indeed … for all those inside the tent.

What it achieved for the Maori Party was to buy them the backing of welfare providers – and as you can see I mean “buy” in the very literal sense. Sure, it’s been hard to keep the backers inside the tent as bigger game seemed to appear elsewhere, but for a while at least it bought support for the new party.

And what it achieved for the Key Government was to buy the backing of the Maori Party – “buy” here being used in the very political sense of buying the Maori Party’s votes, with which it was able to stay in power. 

So quite a great deal indeed was achieved if you’re one of the ones in power.

No wonder supporters of the Key Government remain to this day supporters of the separatist scam.

Because, is there really any difference in principle between the cronyism that gives money and favour to Fletchers, Rio Tinto and the shareholders and note-holders of Sky City and South Canterbury Finance, and the cronyism that gives money to tribal elites clipping the Whanau Ora ticket?

Answers on a postcard please.

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RELATED POSTS:

• Few surprises in Whanau Ora waste – Mike Butler, BREAKING VIEWS
• A Whanau Ora puzzle – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR
• Welfare for everyone? – NOT PC, 2010
• Whanau Ora & the Foreshore and Seabed Act review – Tim Wikiriwhi, NOT PC, 2010