Waipareira chief executive and Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere, pictured during the 2023 general election campaign. Photo / Mike Scott
The Waipareira Trust has launched High Court action to fight its deregistration as a charity, following a years-long probe of political donations made to the campaigns of its long-time chief executive, and Te Pāti Māori president, John Tamihere.
Last year, the sectors’ peak regulator, the Charities Registration Board (CRB), signalled its intention to deregister Waipareira, following a probe by the Department of Internal Affairs’ Charities Services that began in 2019, after it was revealed Tamihere had part-funded his Auckland mayoral campaign with Waipareira funding.
A Herald investigation found Waipareira had advanced more than $385,000 in donations to Tamihere’s 2019 mayoral run, and to Te Pāti Māori’s 2020 general election campaign, in which Tamihere ran as co-leader and an electorate candidate.
After Charities Services began investigating the case, the donations were reflagged as no-interest, related-party loans from the trust to Tamihere, and were only fully repaid in mid-2023 after sustained and fraught discussions between the charity and its regulator.
A settlement of sorts between the parties in early 2023 broke down after fresh complaints emerged that Waipareira’s Matariki festival was used as a platform to launch Te Pāti Māori’s 2023 general election campaign.
Deregistration would complicate Waipareira’s many public contracts to deliver social services, see a tax levied across its net assets, and strip the organisation of its tax-free status.
Waipareira filed judicial review proceedings questioning the validity of the CRB’s notice of intended deregistration, and the case was heard in May at the High Court in Wellington before Justice Lisa Preston. A ruling is pending.
Charlotte Stanley, the director of Charities Services, told the Herald this week the judicial review may delay CRB decision-making and there were still further avenues for Waipareira to appeal.
“Once a charity receives a Notice of Intended Decision, it is entitled to object to the intended decision. The board would then consider objections prior to making its final decision.
“An objections meeting has been tentatively scheduled for late July.
“If the High Court has not issued a judgment before then, the objections meeting will be deferred until an appropriate time,” Stanley said.
“While these processes are under way, the department cannot provide further information. We will provide an update as soon as we are able to.”
Any final decision by the CRB can still be appealed to the Charities and Taxation Review Authority.
Tamihere declined an opportunity to explain the legal action, what it cost his charity in legal fees, or whether he intended to further appeal to the Tax and Charities Review Tribunal if the judicial review was unsuccessful.
“Your caucacity never fails to amaze me,” was the totality of his response to the Herald.
Earlier this year, Waipareira restructured and abandoned its group registration on the Charities Register, which had allowed it to file consolidated annual reports.
Its seven constituent charities, including Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust, which is the subject of the Charities Services investigation, remain registered.
Charities Services said the move had no effect on its actions over political donations.
“The removal of the group is not related to, nor impacts, the current regulatory processes undertaken by the independent Charities Registration Board in relation to the trust,” Stanley said.
Late 2019 – John Tamihere stands in an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Auckland mayoralty. Electoral donation disclosures show Waipareira contributed $100,000 to his campaign. Charities Services begins investigating the probity of this political donation.
October 2020 – Waipareira becomes the effective majority funder of Te Pāti Māori’s general election campaign, contributing more than $285,000 in funding later classified as a no-interest, related-party loan to its chief executive. Tamihere was then the party’s co-leader and stood as a candidate in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate. The following year, he becomes the party’s president.
November 2020 – Charities Services shares an investigation report with Waipareira, alleging the donations saga amounted to “serious wrongdoing” and issuing a formal warning notice. Following objections from Waipareira, this finding and warning notice are withdrawn.
September 2022 – The Herald first breaks news of the dispute, including that the donation loan remains outstanding.
December 2022 – Charities Services issues another warning notice against Waipareira, reaffirming the regulator’s determination that political donations by charities are a breach of the Charities Act.
May 2023 – Charities Services closes its investigation following a settlement with Waipareira that includes Tamihere being served with a demand for repayment of political donations and the trust pledging to refrain from funding or supporting political parties and candidates.
August 2023 – Charities Services reopens its investigation over a lack of clarity as to whether Tamihere has repaid the campaign loan, and fresh complaints that Waipareira’s Matariki concert was used to launch Te Pāti Māori‘s general election campaign.
December 2023 – Waipareira’s annual report filed to the Charities Register reports Tamihere’s campaign loan was repaid in May – but also records average annual executive salaries at Waipareira nearly doubled during the year to $510,679, the highest in the charitable sector.
July 2024 – Charities Services announces it has completed its investigation and the matter is now in the hands of the Charities Registration Board (CRB).
September 2024 – The CRB informs Waipareira of its intention to deregister the social service provider as a charity. Waipareira files a judicial review questioning this development.
May 2025 – Waipareira’s judicial review is heard in the High Court at Wellington before Justice Lisa Preston. A ruling is pending.